This is the second part of my last post on thriving in your talents. For context, you want to read Part 1 first, and review for yourself the parable in Matthew 25: 14-30. In Part 1 I explored three points around using our talents and gifts: 1) We are given talents according to our abilities, 2) We have a responsibility to steward our talents well, and 3) There are consequences to hiding or misusing our talents. In this post, we’ll talk about two more important points around thriving in our talents using the “Parable of the Talents” as context. As a reminder, if you’ve never taken the CliftonStrengths assessment from Gallup, I highly recommend that you do, so you have a starting point from which to explore your unique talents.

We aren’t supposed to play small with our talents

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Marianne Williamson’s book Return to Love. She writes, “It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” This quote pretty much sums up my point. Playing small, dimming our lights, not thriving in our talents is not God’s grand design for us. He expects us to build upon our innate gifts so that we can make the most of what we’ve been given. This is how we demonstrate our faithfulness to Him. Just like the master was pleased with the two servants who multiplied their given talents, so is God pleased when we faithfully steward our talents and push back against playing small.

Don’t compare your talent with others’ talents

A surefire way to stop the blossoming of our talents is to begin comparing how well we are doing with others who have similar talents. Listen, your gift is yours to express in the unique way only you can, based on your experiences, interests, and knowledge. Just like no two artists paint the same way, or no two singers sound alike, in all areas of our gifting we are to bring our special flavor to the mix to leave our indelible imprint. Comparing yourself to another person is a trap. Was the master less pleased with the servant who doubled his two talents to four compared to the one who increased his to ten? You need to do you and not be worried about what the next woman with your talent does with hers. Perhaps it's helpful to remember that your talent is not just about you, but it is a way you bless others. Knowing this should take the competitive pressure off and motivate you to stay in your lane and excel in your amazing way.

Take time to reflect on your talents and the ways you can engage them to maximize their power, knowing that the more exceptional you can express them, the greater the impact they have on others.

In their decades of research building the CliftonStrengths community, Gallup found that the chances of another person having the same top five talents in the same order as yours is 1 in 33 million. Let the magnitude of that sink in. The uniqueness of your talent hopefully also motivates you to take action to use your talents in the fulfillment of your purpose. If you need time figuring that out, I’m here to help!

Abound in your brilliance, my friend!