You Were Born This Way – With Gifts!

Lynn O'DowdGoGaGa News

For YOU – Your List of Gifts

The holiday season is associated with gift giving. Many of us spend time thinking about and shopping for the perfect gift to give a loved one, friend, colleague or customer. But have you thought about the gifts YOU have already been given? Not during a holiday season, but when you were born. The first letter in my “GaGa” formula, “G,” stands for “Gifts.” The “Gifts” I’m referring to are the God-given gifts or natural talents that we received when we were born.

Are you able to recognize the gifts you received when you were born? It can be challenging to identify our own gifts because we don’t often think about ourselves in that way. As we enter this gift giving season, I invite you to make a list of all your skills, talents, abilities, expertise, strengths, and anything you have a knack for or enjoy – big or small.

My keynotes address how to “Unleash Your Inner Superstar.” In October, I published the article, “The Secret Gifts for Success.” This article details the “G” in the GaGa formula a bit more. Now that we are nearing the new year, this article has a different impact. Each year, most of us review the year to see what we want to change in the new year. Creating a list of YOUR gifts helps you recognize what you can be doing or want to be doing. The list is most likely to be much longer than you expect. After you have your list, review it and decide what gifts you would like to enhance in 2018, how you want to spend your time, what you want to enjoy more, and what you would like to cultivate in your life.

Once we realize all of our abilities, it helps us be grateful for the gifts we were truly given in this life. A way to show our gratitude is to share them with those who need them. Your gifts of math, baking, singing, building or even being disciplined can help others in so many different ways. Sometimes, we take for granted what comes easy to us or we don’t attach a lot of value to what we are gifted with because we compare ourselves to others. The best thing to do is share your gifts, and that isn’t limited to a ‘gift-giving season.’ You can give your unique gifts all year long.

This holiday season give yourself the gift of recognizing and appreciating all the wondrous, unique parts of YOU! If you find that you are not using all your gifts, just know that life is a journey, and you can change your life at any moment. The first step is DECIDING to make a change. Don’t forget, in the busy-ness of this holiday season, to make YOUR list and GoGaGa™ in 2018 to Unleash Your Inner Superstar!

Happy Holidays and A Happy & Healthy New Year!