Discovering Gifts from God You Didn’t Know You Had. How?!
Jan 23, 2020
Yesterday Never Would Have Happened Without Taking a Risk
Yesterday, I was painting with my amazing wife when I remembered how painting together started. When I say “painting,” I mean painting on a canvas. Those of you who have been followers know that I was a financial advisor for over 30 years. So, what was a financial nerd doing painting? Well, yesterday reminded me of how Nancy helped me take a risk and discover that I had an aptitude that had been hidden from me for decades. Read on if you want to know more about how to discover hidden God-given gifts you may possess.
Charlie, You Just Did!
About nine or ten years ago, Nancy and I were sitting on a sofa next to each other in a room in which Nancy liked to paint. I was reading, and she was painting. She turned to me and said, “Charlie, I’m having trouble with this part of the picture. What do you think I should do with it?” I looked at the problem area and made some suggestions. She liked them and asked me to try painting the changes. I said I didn’t want to hurt her picture, and she told me that she was using acrylic paint and could fix whatever I messed up. So, I painted my suggestions.
She looked at what I had done and asked me to “fix” another part of her painting that was bothering her. I started making suggestions, and she stopped me and said to paint what I thought would help. I did, and she looked approvingly on the results. Then she reached over, got an empty canvass, and told me to paint a picture. I said, “Nancy, I can’t paint.” She responded, “Charlie, you just did.” So, I painted a picture and felt like a little boy with a new toy.
Long story short, I have painted other pictures since then that are hanging in our home or have been sold. Painting is now a way that Nancy and I can spend some time together in a fun way. She paints a lot more than I do (and is much better than I am), but yesterday reminded me of how Nancy helped create a safe place for me to take a risk and discover at age 55+ a gift that God had given me that had been obscured. There is a better way, though, to learn about gifts God has given you.
Don’t Wait Until Age 55
Because of our career assessment process, we have learned from research that people’s aptitudes (secular word for God’s Gifts) show up by age 14. Part of what we do is test for aptitudes, and many clients are discovering aptitudes that they did not know they had.
Skills and talents come from aptitudes that are developed, but often people, like me, possess some undeveloped aptitudes. There are two ways to discover them:
- Take seemingly crazy risks as I did, or more simply and effectively…
- Go through a process of testing for aptitudes along with personality and interests.
Research done by the Lumina Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network, and Gallup found that over 50% of workers are unhappy in their jobs. This statistic reflects a tragedy in humanity that needs to be addressed. For one thing, knowing more about your aptitudes, developing them, and using them should lead to more career and life satisfaction. Imagine how much more joy and fulfillment I could have had if I had been able to express myself in art and interacting with others who loved to paint as well. You ready to start your journey?
Conclusion
Unstatus Your Quo® is one of the Career & Life Coaching organizations dedicated to helping people understand themselves better and then implementing custom-designed and better-informed career plans. Our clients are Christians, and we teach the Christian Advantage in making behavior changes, big and small, for God’s glory. Whether you use us or another firm, the Lord wants you to be operating according to His will. He made you uniquely for this moment in history for His glory. It’s time for you to know His will, know your aptitudes, develop those that aren’t skills yet, and use them as you thrive in your job and career. It’s showtime…
Charlie Haines
