The relationship between your gift and your purpose are very much like a lock and key — they were made for each other, and one is useless without the other.
I have given you a purpose. If you have ever wondered about this, wonder no more. Feel your heart flutter as you come to the realization that YOU ARE HERE FOR A REASON. Your purpose is unique to you. It is a task that you and only you can perform.
Yet, like everything else in your world, the fulfillment of your purpose is subject to free will. In other words, you are completely free to ignore your purpose. This is difficult, since your soul already knows how happy you will be when you are fulfilling your purpose. If you do choose to fulfill your purpose, you will use the special talent or ability I have given you with which to complete your task.
I have given you a gift. If you have ever felt overlooked when it comes to talent and ability, stop it. Even if you are not sure what your gift is, do not worry. Not only have I given you a special talent, I’m about to tell you exactly how to recognize it and develop it.
There are many ways to recognize your gift, but here are a few of the simplest and most powerful. Use them together and you will have no doubt of the gift I have given you.
- You’ve already discovered your gift, most likely in childhood. This is when you were just “playing” with your gift, before you even cared what others thought about you.
- Your gift is something that you love to do. I made it this way to encourage you to use it. After all, a gift you do not enjoy wouldn’t be much of a gift, now would it?
- The urge to use your gift never goes away. Even if you have ignored it for years, there’s a part of you that always imagines what it would be like to pick up that guitar, to write that book, to work with children, to program a video game, to sing that song . . .
- Your gift, which comes quite effortlessly and naturally to you, tends to leave those around you in awe.
Once you align your gift with your purpose, miraculous things will occur. You will touch lives. You will prosper in every area of your life—mentally, emotionally, spiritually and financially. You will thrive in your career and in your relationships. This is because you no longer will feel as though you are wasting your life and talents. Your sense of prosperity will also change–you won’t even define it in terms of anything that is going on outside of you.
And you will no longer define wealth as the accumulation of money. It may include that, but at the end of the day, to prosper and thrive is simply to have what you need when you need it—whether that’s health, love, food, money or resources.
So if all of this good stuff will happen when you use your gift to fulfill your purpose, why do so many people deny themselves that pleasure?
Many of you have been taught to deny your gifts. This often happens at a young age. Often, the people in your life do not want you to experience the disappointment of not having things work out if you pursue your gift, so they discourage you from using it.
Some of you have tried to use your gift expecting approval of people whose opinions you care about. Then, when you do not get the approval you were expecting, you become embarrassed and you turn away from your gift.
In either case, it will take faith and courage to harness your gift to fulfill your purpose. When you do, you should expect to stand out—if for no other reason than others around you are less courageous and are trapped by their own fears of disappointment and rejection. Just not being trapped by fear will make you stand out.
Let me be clear: using your gift to fulfill your purpose does not come without its challenges. But you are going to encounter challenges in life even if you completely ignore your gifts and your purpose. That’s just life.
The only questions left are these: Do you want to face life’s challenges with or without using your God-given talents? And do you want to live a life without purpose? Those may seem like harsh choices, but you have been making choices about these two questions without being aware of it—unconscious choices. Now that you are aware of what is truly at stake, you can choose consciously.
Assuming you choose consciously to use your gifts to fulfill your purpose, here are a few ways to wean yourself off of the fear of disappointment and rejection:
- Let go of expectations of a specific outcome. When you get attached to a specific outcome, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. And you may miss out on outcomes that were much greater than you expected.
- Be flexible. As you develop your gifts and pursue your purpose, I will be right there in your heart guiding you. I may occasionally ask you to do something that seems unusual or even uncomfortable. When this happens, I am trying to mold you. But when you are rigid and inflexible, it is difficult for me to do this. So be open to doing things you’ve never done before.
- Tap into the simple joys of your gifts. When you were a small child, you played with your gifts without thinking about whether you’d be disappointed or rejected. You played with your gifts simply because it was fun to do so. So by all means, lose yourself in the simple joys of your gifts.
- Expect to make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the human experience. You will make them, no matter how hard you try not to. So when they occur, you must learn to make peace with them. You can do this by learning from your mistakes and then forgiving yourself for them. Choosing not to do so will only slow you down.
- Expect disapproval. Not everyone will be excited about your gift or what comes of it. Sometimes, this will include people you love and who deeply love you, and yes, it will be painful. However, I did not give you these gifts solely for the benefit of people you already know and love. When you use your gift to fulfill your purpose, you will transform the lives of people you’ve never met and people you may never meet. The people who will benefit the most from your gift will be drawn to you. Often they will be people you least expect. So just because those closest to you “don’t get it,” don’t worry. Your gifts will impact others in ways you can’t imagine.
- Be patient. My gift to you is like the seedling of a mighty oak. Eventually, it will grow into a very strong and sturdy tree, but it will not do so overnight. You must nurture it and tend to it if you want it to grow. And you must be patient because often you will not see the growth and progress that is being made, despite your efforts. But rest assured that under the surface, in places you can’t see, my gift is growing deep roots that will eventually lead to growth you CAN see. So be committed. Be diligent. And be patient.
- Stay humble. You may experience some level of popularity as you grow in your gift. People may even revere you. But just as you are not to get trapped by people’s disapproval of you, you should not allow their admiration for you go to your head. Keep your focus on fulfilling your purpose. And when others seek to put you on a pedestal, remind them that you are no better than they are and that I have given them great gifts of their own. Put simply, always remember to use your gift for selfless service instead of self-service.
As your gift grows inside of you, you will become more confident in it. Fear will leave you. You will have fewer doubts and you will stop wondering whether or not you are good enough or up to the task. You will feel empowered and uplifted. And all you have to do is accept my gift to you.
Will you?
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