Have you ever had one of those friends who just loves giving gifts? They know just what to buy you without you ever asking for anything and you can see the anticipation on their face as you hold it in your hand. These people are practically giddy as they watch you unwrap or unfold the perfect gift they’ve just given you. It almost feels like a gift to them for you to receive it. Do you know these people? I am not them. Personally, I’m terrible at gifts. Gifts from me are consistently late and often inspire a little bit of confusion on the part of the recipient. Every time I am just hoping that the person likes it. I hold my breath as though waiting for the results of some test as people open them for fear that they may hate it. Somehow though, I both married and created the gift giving people.
My sweet boys, they love to give gifts. They will frequently wrap up toys, books, movies, and candy as a present for each other and for my husband and me. Every one of us is excited to get one of these gifts. We’re excited even though we know the gift is going right back into the toy box or candy dish.
What lights them up about gift giving?
Seeing someone open a new gift that they carefully selected, wrapped, and delivered gives them so much joy. I think it is a combination of things that light them up. There is investigation that goes into knowing what to get someone. They don’t want a list, much less an isle-by-isle account of where to find the exact thing. Identifying the thing that will make someone else’s heart burst. Then there is a little bit of the thrill of the chase. Knowing what to get the other person is one thing but researching all of the details and finding the best deal just thrills them. Finally, the excitement of someone opening their gift. The combination of all that just makes their little hearts sing.
This applies to the big gift giving people too. My husband doesn’t mind when I give a list or suggestions, but he loves to figure out what I want based on what I am doing. A few months ago he noticed that I was consistently listening to my phone while I cooked dinner or washed dishes. I would have the volume all the way up and move it around the room, so it was near me. He got the idea for a Bluetooth speaker that would stay in the kitchen. Then he got to do all the research. What is the right brand? What color would I want? How big should it be and where would we put it? When he finally picked the right one, he ordered it with the intent of making it a Christmas gift. However, true to form, the excitement of giving took over and I got a random October gift instead. It was so sweet, and it never even occurred to me that I wanted it, until he gave it to me.
We all have something like this.
Gift giving people are great. They are a little over the top and sometimes it is difficult for me to wrap my head around how excited they get about it. At the same time though, it is sweet to see just how much they love it. I think we all have something like that, love languages, as Dr. Chapman has coined them. There always seems to be one way that we light up by loving on others. For some it is the encouraging word they can give, for others the doing some form of service, for people like my boys and my husband, it is the gifts they can give.
What is mine?
Their reaction to gift giving is the same as my reaction to seeing growth in people. I can somehow see it beginning to end and pick it out before they even realize that is where they want to go. The excitement I get from the investigation of what they truly want. The chase for me is creating a strategy that will get them where they want to go. Finally, the excitement of watching them implement and see results just puts me right over the top.
The really great part about my particular brand of what Dr. Chapman would likely classify as a combination of quality time and acts of service, is that which each piece of feedback I’m able to help someone implement means I often get to be there for the next and the next. My version of the gift giving people allows me to be part of their story again and again as they continue to grow. Watching those that I’ve worked with get everything they wanted based on our plan and their execution is like watching those kids open every gift on Christmas morning.
What is yours?
Anything we’re passionate about can be a bit much to others from time to time but we have these gifts for a reason. We’re given these talents and asked to multiply them. Regardless of what your love language is or the version of ‘gift giving’ you do, let is shine. We need you out there. If you’re looking for some encouraging strategy in your career, let me use my gifts click here to check out a few of my resources.