How to know your gift from God (Part 1)
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
James, the brother of Jesus, leader in the Jerusalem Church
What you do well isn't your gift. Neither are your talents. Neither are your abilities.
I know this from experience.
I remember discovering that I liked music. It caught my attention like nothing else did. It motivated me to move, and I remembered melodies easily--because I liked them. (The strongest memories are those that are most pleasing, or most displeasing. You try to hold on to the pleasures and avoid the displeasures. In other words, you begin to practice finding the pleasure, and avoiding the displeasure, hoping to become good at both.) I liked rhythms and melodies and music. I liked dancing and playing mallet percussion. So I did both of these...all of the time. I liked going to drum practice, which means I liked practicing. And I became good at drumming and dancing...because I liked doing them.
There is a book that beautifully explains this called Mindset. It distinguishes the fixed mindset from the growth mindset. The fixed mindset means that some think we are born with certain abilities and that those don't change. The growth mindset is the opposite. We learn, we develop, and we can ultimately do whatever we choose to practice, as it is also written in scripture, "He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous."
You can be liberated by what I just wrote. Think about what it means.
Click here for part 2.
James, the brother of Jesus, leader in the Jerusalem Church
What you do well isn't your gift. Neither are your talents. Neither are your abilities.
The gift God gave you is what you really like to do;
you become good at it by practicing;
you practice it because you enjoy it.
I know this from experience.
I remember discovering that I liked music. It caught my attention like nothing else did. It motivated me to move, and I remembered melodies easily--because I liked them. (The strongest memories are those that are most pleasing, or most displeasing. You try to hold on to the pleasures and avoid the displeasures. In other words, you begin to practice finding the pleasure, and avoiding the displeasure, hoping to become good at both.) I liked rhythms and melodies and music. I liked dancing and playing mallet percussion. So I did both of these...all of the time. I liked going to drum practice, which means I liked practicing. And I became good at drumming and dancing...because I liked doing them.
My liking music is God's gift.
The musical talent and ability come from liking music.
If I don't practice singing, dancing, and composing, then I can no more do these and anyone else.
There is a book that beautifully explains this called Mindset. It distinguishes the fixed mindset from the growth mindset. The fixed mindset means that some think we are born with certain abilities and that those don't change. The growth mindset is the opposite. We learn, we develop, and we can ultimately do whatever we choose to practice, as it is also written in scripture, "He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous."
You can be liberated by what I just wrote. Think about what it means.
Click here for part 2.
Comments