Discovering Your Giftedness
A Step-By-Step Guide
A Sample Giftedness Story
Age 12 – I redesigned my bedroom. My parents gave me a budget and I picked out colors, linens, accessories, etc. I liked coordinating the design, as well as the independence of making my own decisions.
My little brother is ten years younger than me. My parents weren’t expecting to have another child, so when my mom was thinking about setting up his nursery, she asked me to move downstairs so that my brother could have my old room upstairs and be close to my parents’ bedroom.
My folks gave me a budget to work with. I remember pulling out a catalogue for linens or something like that, and first I chose a bedspread I liked. I loved the idea that I could pick a variety of sheets to go with it, and pillows and a bed skirt. I also liked the fact that the comforter was reversible. I still have it to this day. There were also some window treatments that I fell in love with.
Then I had to choose my colors. I wanted a variety of colors—white and blue on one side, and then a floral pattern with some pink in it on the other side. Overall, the color scheme was blue. So we went to the paint store to get some paint. At the time, wallpaper was kind of in, so I also picked out a wallpaper border that went with the paint.
When we got home, my dad got a ladder and a bunch of paint brushes and rollers, and showed me how to roll the paint onto the wall. I kind of took it from there and painted everything the way I wanted it. We let everything dry overnight. Then I measured out how the border would go on the wall. Once I’d figured that out, my dad helped me put it up.
The most fun thing was getting out the sheets and the comforter and making the bed. Then I put the curtains in the windows. And when it was all done, I just crawled up on my bed and sat for a while, enjoying the finished product. It was amazing!
About that time, our family went on a vacation. We were driving to my grandparents’ cabin up in the mountains, and we stopped at a couple of country stores. I saw these baskets and I thought, “Those would go well.” So I picked out a pink basket that kind of coordinated with the comforter. I think I picked out a vase, too.
What I loved about decorating my own room was just sort of starting with a clean slate and having a bit of a goal in mind, but then having the freedom to sort of change course if I didn’t think something was going to look right. I really liked being the one to make the decision of what it was all going to look like, and to own that decision and have a lot of confidence that that was what I wanted. I’m sure my folks would have stepped in if I was going to do something crazy. But they were very supportive. And in the end, the room turned out great. I loved how it looked!
Notice how much detail this woman has provided. She doesn’t leave it to anyone’s imagination to figure out how she redesigned her bedroom. We can see her doing it. She tells us what she actually did and how she went about doing it. She’s also clear on what she found satisfying about re-decorating her bedroom. All of that information becomes vitally important later when it’s time to identify her unique motivational pattern.
Are you ready to get started in telling your own Giftedness Stories?
You can start in one of two ways:
Begin by writing out your stories and then telling them to another person (OPTIONAL) >>