Honor Your Gifts
By: Regina Paul
Tags: Talent, Journey, Journey Of Life, Life Lessons, Life

I went through a period a few days ago where I was just being down on myself. Unlike some of my friends who either have a husband who works which allows them to be able to work from home and work on their creative business, or who have savings that allow the same thing, I must work a full-time day job.

While scrolling through Facebook and seeing all the lovely new book releases from these same friends, and myself who hasn’t released a brand new book since 2019, well it really made me feel bad. And then to top it off I got mad, why the hell can’t I be in the position to work from home and write too?! Needless to say I started beating myself up for not having as many new releases, not writing as many articles, and not having the same amount of time to be “creative.”

And oh the jealousy! Yes, I was positively becoming that green-eyed monster. The more I scrolled, the more jealous and angry I got. Talk about a vicious cycle.

The fact is we all get a bit jealous at times, or angry that others can do things that we wish we could do, it’s normal and it’s important to honor your feelings and allow yourself to feel them. That being said, mine were quickly getting out of control and I knew I needed to do something fast or I was going to be in a downward spiral for who knew how long.

Then something wonderful happened. While I was working to speak kindly to myself and release those negative emotions once I had allowed myself to feel them, these words came to into my head. “Honor your gifts.” Suddenly I’m thinking about all my gifts and how I use them. These are things that others either don’t necessarily know how to do or don’t want to. They make me unique. I remembered that while I may not have released a new novel this year, I did reformat, and create new covers for nearly all my books and then re-uploaded them to Amazon. And I created this publication and have been pretty regularly writing articles for it and and and…

Suddenly I was able to release those negative emotions and get back to the business of appreciating not just my own gifts but those of my friends who are blessed to be able to do what they love from home. While I still don’t have that option, I’m okay with it, because I have my own gifts and I get to use them everyday on my day job. Maybe I don’t have as much time to write and publish books and articles as I’d like, but I still do write and publish. I also paint, draw, and create Native American beaded jewelry when I can make time.

Comparing yourself with others is just a street to nowhere because while you’re busy doing all that comparing, and telling yourself you want this person or that person’s life, it is easy to forget that you have your own gifts and your own contributions. And if you had that other person’s life then you wouldn’t be who you are and your offerings would not be there. When you remember to honor the gifts you have and to use them (this is key, remember to use them) then you don’t need to compare yourself to others. Remember that you are unique and you have your own gifts to give to the world. Remember to honor your own gifts when you find yourself comparing yourself to others. You will not only feel better, but you will be giving something wonderful to the world.