Finding Your Gift
The last year has been a life-changing, upside-down feels right side up kind of year for me. But what I have found most interesting as I grow as a developer, is how my internal compass has changed.
Whereas I used to be the Queen of planning, I have now become more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Ironically, I find it hard to plan what I will be doing next week, let alone what my next career move will be. Yet in the midst of all this I am still nagged by this feeling of wanting to know what I should be doing. What is my passion, what is my gift.
In my cursory search of the internet for what I should do next, I discovered that passions and gifts are not exactly the same thing. The big difference is, passion is what fuels you, but a gift is what you offer that fuels someone else. This maybe the reason why you can chase your passions, and still find life fulfilling. So it appears that the trick is to find the sweet spot, where your gifts and your passions meet.
Now I don’t profess to know the answer to this for myself. But I have found some helpful pointers that are starting to lead me in the right direction.
1. Think back on your childhood
Seems trite, but there is actually a point to this. When we are really young, we do what comes naturally to us, before we learn what is acceptable and what isn’t. This advice is offered usually when searching for what you want to do with your life. But it is also quite useful for finding what you may be gifted at.
One of my gifts is solving problems, normally by tying together disparate concepts into something cohesive and simple. There is a famous story of me silencing a car full of adults when I was 2 because I was able to logically solve a problem in seconds that they had been arguing about for hours, and then go back to playing with my barbie doll.
2. Go for walks
Walking is a great way to clear your head and let your brain show you what its working with. Many of history’s greatest minds made a point to go for a walk when they were figuring out problems, and there is a good reason for that. There is a lot of science and data to back this up, but just trust me. Set an intention, and then take a walk and don’t concentrate on it. While you are enjoying the breeze you will get hit with pure gold.
3. Ask
You would be amazed by what people around you may know about you that you have yet to realize about yourself. Often times, you gift may be hard for you to find because for you…it is a gift. Its not hard. It is a natural extension of your personality or way of being. Ask people what you do that seems special to them. It can help you go much farther down the path.
4. Spend time alone
We are together so much, even if we are in silos created by screens. It is just as important to get some me time in. When you spend time by yourself, you get to do things your way. That may give you the opportunity to notice what comes easily to you, and what you long to do. Many times our gifts are things that we long to act out or express. It is easiest to get in touch with that part of yourself when you have some time to yourself.
The important part is to start getting clear about what you do that helps other people. The people in life who are majorly successful have found the intersection of the things that they are passionate about and the gifts the have to offer. I am on a mission to do the same.
Happy hunting and gathering!
