Taking responsibility for the talent and gifts we have is a massive undertaking. It’s like knowing that it’s a precious resource and should be taken care of and used in the right way so that it’s not wasted on any endeavour that doesn’t maximise it to the fullest.

Like water in a drought. We know in Cape Town, where we were suffering from a serious drought not even a year ago, that conserving water became an ingrained habit. It changed the way we operate forever. I know that I’ll always be mindful of this finite resource and my behaviour has changed regarding how I preserve water – shorter showers, using greywater to water plants, not flushing the toilet every time… But I digress…

Talent is like that, isn’t it? It can’t just be summoned on the spot unless you’re already feeling inspired and in a good space. If you’ve just had a huge argument with your spouse, I assure you that you won’t want to start singing love songs and inspiring others through your writing.

Talent needs to be nurtured and protected sometimes. It needs space and time to blossom. It needs quiet and reflection too. You may have a very musical ear but if you don’t put the time in to hone your talent and learn an instrument or sing, you’re squandering a natural resource you’ve been given.

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me.”Erma Bombeck

If you haven’t used your talent to its full capacity yet, what’s stopping you? It can only be something to do with :

1. Fear
2. Time
3. Energy

FEAR

For me, I have the natural ability to be able to sing. I have a strong, clear and in tune mostly soprano voice. Actually I have a pretty good range. Yet I baulk at the idea of getting up in front of a group of people and just singing. But singing is the most natural thing in the world for me. If I couldn’t sing, it would feel as if a limb was amputated.

As I get older though, I’m starting to question why this is even an issue anymore. What could go wrong for me? I could be judged or I could be laughed at… But what’s the probability of that happening? And if it does, so what?

I also know that if I dedicated enough time to art, drawing and painting, I could really produce something of great beauty. I am very artistic and one of my greatest regrets is that I never pursued art more to a greater degree whilst at school. But I still have time to change that.

This quote really struck me today because I realise I have a great talent that I’m squandering. Or more correctly, hiding away. Growth for me, in the next few weeks, will see me preparing a way to share these talents of mine with friends. I’ll let you know how it goes.

If fear is the driving repressor of your talent, ask yourself what about your fear is true? Interrogate that fear and those assumptions and slay them. Talk about them with a trusted friend and test your assumptions.

TIME

We all know that 24 hours in a day often doesn’t feel like it’s enough to have any time to focus on ourselves, let alone take up a hobby. We are pulled in every single direction that it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of who we are and what that little voice inside is trying to tell us. But ultimately, we are the rulers of our own schedules, and I’ve learnt (but I admit I don’t often put into practice) that if I want something really badly, I’ll make time for it.

If I want to pursue a hobby, I do need to make time for it. I believe that when we say we have no time for something, we’re making an excuse or telling ourselves a story that makes us feel better. I have no time to draw or learn a water painting technique because of my children. I can’t focus on my new business because I have so much work to do. Do you get the picture? I am well versed in all these excuses and then I wonder why I feel depressed or I haven’t taken action on my new business idea yet.

ENERGY

Another finite resource we have is energy. With everything vying for attention, social media screaming headlines at us and looming deadlines and stress, where is the energy to even think about using your talents? Self care now needs its own hashtag so that we can maintain a focus on it.

Yet we know we are useless to everyone if we do not replenish our own energy stores.

I have come to believe that I have suffered from depression in the last two years because I haven’t allowed myself a proper creative outlet or made enough time to pursue a hobby. I have been so focused on bringing 2 young children into the world and being a great mother to my 11 year old son, that in the process, I have lost touch with my own creativity and pleasure. With a pandemic, homeschooling and trying to keep work flowing in, I have had little energy for myself. Like so many others, I have just been trying to survive.

If this is your situation, where can you shave time in your schedule so that you can just breathe deeply? Of course you can make time for that! How can you stretch your body and awaken your cells so that you start to feel better. Where can you stop eating sugar and refined carbohydrates so you can manage your energy levels better? Where can you go to sleep earlier instead of staying up for just one more Netflix binge?

EVERYTHING BOILS DOWN TO CHOICE.

Everything that I’ve mentioned above has an element of choice to it. So how can we choose better? How can we look at our situations, assess where our talent lies, and make these better choices to bring it forth, all the while managing our fears, time and energy?

I believe that we all have the ability to choose to use our talent, it’s whether we want to or not. If we don’t want to, why is that? And if we do, then what’s the action plan to bring this gift out and share it with the world?

So I plan to start looking at how I can bring more creativity into my life. I would love to hear from you how you plan to do this.

I think we all want to feel that our work has meaning. So a wakeup call for all of us who are sitting on oodles of talent and not doing anything about that – be that because of fear, time commitments or sheer exhaustion, is that we all have a choice.

Questions to meditate on :

• What talent are you hiding away?
• How do you awaken that talent and start showing it to the world?
• How would you feel if you were using your glorious talent every day?

Wouldn’t that fill you up with energy? I bet it would. Maybe you would start to see a shift in your attitude to life, your relationships and your confidence too.

Never be ashamed or embarrassed about what you’ve been given. Everyone has been gifted a truly remarkable ability. Bring forth your beautiful talent, skills and energies for the benefit of the people around you and ultimately the world at large and watch what happens. What do you have to lose?