Talent

A couple of weeks ago in Relief Society we wrote down all of our personal talents. This was an interesting and somewhat revealing exercise.  I had no trouble at all thinking of things that I am good at. My list consisted of things like crafting, cooking, teaching, music, art, etc.  In fact I was impressed at how easily I thought of things I am talented at.  ~shoulder brush~

Unfortunately because I was coming up with ideas so quickly I was also running out of them.  The teacher did a wonderful job of putting on spiritual music for us to listen to as we thought of things to write.  Despite this, thoughts of things I can’t do well and have never been good at started to creep into my head mothering, self control, cleaning, paying bills, reading scriptures, etc., etc., etc.  Even more easily than coming up with my talents was coming up with things I hate about myself.  While this isn’t a good thing, at least I was able to steer clear of the bad ideas and look through my accomplishments with a sense of hope.

God hasgiven us all talents. Some people believe we are born with “raw” or “natural” talent.  I’ve always been pretty good with academics. Grades are something I’ve never really had to work HARD at.  Of course there is “that one class” that consumes all my energy and causes more stress than I think I can handle, but I always seem to manage an A or B. 

Others believe you have to work for the things you want to be good at.  I was never an amazing dancer, but I wanted to be. So I worked my rear off to make the elite team and still only made alternate (but a girl quit, long story short, I was in). I brought a video camera to class to learn and study the dances and steps that came so easily to others.   

I believe we have a bit of both natural and raw talent.  Academics, cooking, crafting, etc. come easy to me.  Dancing, patience, gardening are all skills that I’ve had to work at. They are things I still have to work hard at. 

If you can’t think of ONE thing you are good at, then ask someone else, and BELIEVE what he or she says.  From the inside out, it can be difficult to figure out who you are and what your talents are.  But from the outside looking in, (good friends and family) can be a HUGE help.  People who love and care for you can often see you from an honest/reliable perspective.   If you’re a terrible singer, they’ll let you down nicely, but they’ll let you know. If you’re good at listening they’ll let you know.

They’re not always right.

            But if you have literally NOTHING good to say about yourself, they can be a good start.  

To wrap up, I'm going to get preachy. So if you don't want to be preached at stop reading HERE. 

God LOVES each and everyone of us. We have faults. We have sinned. Some big sins, some little sins. He has given us the gift of the atonement so that we can repent of those sins.  We need to go out and share our talents with others and in turn, help others to find their talents.  God WANTS us to be happy.