Permission to Follow Your Gift(s)

The first question that likely comes to mind with advice that says, follow you gift is: “But how do I know what is my gift?”

Most of us will agree though that following your gift is likely to be the most emotionally and sometimes financially rewarding path.  

However, we sometimes get stuck is the nagging suspicion that there lies around the corner, obstacles, disappointments and barriers 

that might be too unsurmountable.  In the meantime, we settle for what we consider safer, less-risky options, such as taking jobs 

that we know precious little about, or ones we hang on to simply because they pay well or simply pay the bills.  

However, following your gift doesn’t have to mean settling for a life of mere existence.

 And it does not have to mean a singular career choice either. You can even have a blend of the two, a gift that satisfies your passion and a career that provides for your financially. 

What it does mean is to take time to identify what your special, unique gift happens to be, versus what your passion is, and then prioritize what most important to you.  

Just as getting a college degree or learning a skill or trade can take several years, identifying your unique gift 

could take years in some cases, and should not be approached lightly or with apprehension. 

The avenues to finding yours run the gamut from self-reflection to mentoring, but perhaps most important 

is your own determination to find yours.

Professor Joseph Campbell, the mythologist who coined the term, “follow your bliss,” posited that we are all on a hero’s journey. 

When you place the idea of following your gift in the context of a lifetime’s journey, we are more likely to decide to enjoy the journey, 

and seeing where it leads rather than abandoning the dream even before it gets born.  Of course, if for whatever reason you decide

 to not enjoy the journey you will likely give up on the dream.  

My hope is that you will decide to not give up early, or at all, but rather to do whatever it takes to discover your unique gift.