teach.yoga

  • teach.yoga
  • Teach Yoga
    • Business of Yoga
  • Study Yoga
  • Lifestyle
  • Marketplace
  • Reviews
  • Search

The Importance of Identifying Your Gifts

by Amy Ippoliti / lifestyle

Your gifts are what will guide your life path. 

That’s great, but what if you don’t know what your gifts are?

Your gifts are generally things that come very naturally to you. They are also likely the things that people ask you to do for them. 

In the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, organizational maven Mari Kondo discusses her childhood spent organizing her family’s spaces, annoying everyone as she moved their things without them knowing. Her natural inclination to tidy spaces was her gift – it was annoying to those close to her and it was what ended up becoming her career.

When I was a kid, I was really shy about singing even though I loved it. Later on when I started studying Sanskrit, I grew more confident with my singing, and eventually I had people asking to record me singing invocations. They liked how I sang and were asking to use my voice as an example – a validated gift!

Often our gifts were exposed as children, then either suppressed or malnourished or forgotten as we grew up. Think back to when you were a child – what was the thing(s) you did that just made the day fly by? What activities did you get lost in? If you can’t remember, ask a parent or sibling or someone who knew you when you were little.

Our gifts are also two-sided. On one side is the gift itself, and on the other side is the liability of the gift. One of my gifts is teaching – I always knew I would teach because I’ve been doing it in one way or another my entire life and I love it. On the flip side, my zeal for teaching can sometimes come across as bossy, sharp, or even intimidating. I’ve had to work on this my whole life, and still do!

One person may have a great gift of caring for others. The liability side might be invading others’ space or getting “up in their grill.” Someone else could come across as aloof or cold, which might be the liability of a gift that is a thoughtful, creative, or even funny person.

When you know your gifts, you can offer them fully. This in turn leads to fulfillment. Real happiness isn’t random bursts of serotonin, or trying for sustained enthusiasm – real happiness comes from the degree to which you can offer your gifts to the world. 

Go, share your gifts!

MORE INSPIRATION
  • How do we Really Move the Needle on Climate Change?
  • The Power of Keeping a Success Journal
  • Saving the Planet One Compost at a Time
Amy Ippoliti

About the Author

Amy Ippoliti is known for bringing yoga to modern-day life in a genuine way through her intelligent sequencing, clear instruction, and engaging sense of humor. She shares her passion for yoga, health, earth conservation, with her writings for Yoga Journal, Organic Life, Prevention, Mantra, Origin, Mind Body Green, and Elephant Journal. She has appeared on the covers of Yoga Journal, Boulder Lifestyle, and Fit Yoga Magazine and has been featured in Self Magazine, New York Magazine, Allure (Korea), and Newsweek and on the front page of Yahoo.com. A teacher on Glo.com, she is a pioneer of advanced yoga education, cofounding Vesselify (formerly 90 Monkeys), an online school that has enhanced the skills of yoga teachers and studios in 65+ countries. She is the co-author of The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga. Learn more at amyippoliti.com.

Facebook Instagram http://amyippoliti.com

RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS

How I’m Dealing with Sleep During Perimenopause

Amy Ippoliti

Sleep While You’re Alive: Cultivating Good Sleep Hygiene

Katrina Kopeck

What to Remember When your Teacher Isn’t Instructing You

Amy Ippoliti

Understanding Trauma in the Studio: Avoidance and Isolation

Katrina Kopeck

So Hot Right Now: Saving the Planet One Vote at a Time

Amy Ippoliti

VIEW ALL CONTRIBUTORS

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • November 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
← Previous POST: The Intelligence of Anxiety
Next POST: Saving the Planet One Compost at a Time →

RECENT POSTS

  • How I’m Dealing with Sleep During Perimenopause
  • Sleep While You’re Alive: Cultivating Good Sleep Hygiene
  • What to Remember When your Teacher Isn’t Instructing You
  • Understanding Trauma in the Studio: Avoidance and Isolation
  • So Hot Right Now: Saving the Planet One Vote at a Time

About

We are a resource for yoga teachers and practitioners. At teach.yoga, we aim to be a grounded, well-informed resource with educated opinions while exploring the esoteric elements of yoga.

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright 2022 TEACH.YOGA • PRESENTED BY VESSELIFY