What Exactly Are Our Strengths And How To Use Them?

Lately, I decided to concentrate on my strengths instead of my weaknesses. My weaknesses, like for many people, were much more noticeable and the need to fix and overcome them was very strong.

In my years, I've spent a lot of time trying to make myself better, to position myself for success at work and in my personal life: communicate better, negotiate better, write better, dance better, etc. The truth is, I still suck at all of it! While I gained some good insight and information, I am nowhere near the levels that the course objectives claim I should be at the end of taking these courses or feeling personal confidence in the knowledge I've gained. I'm just not good at it. And, I don't have the motivation to get better. Why is that? 

Most people don't know or truly understand their strengths and weaknesses. Or if they do, they don't know how to use them fully in order to achieve the success they want. No one teaches us at school or in the workplace how to identify and utilize our skills to their fullest. We have to figure it out on our own. But how?

If you're like me, you probably took a bunch of personality tests and profiles, such as Meyer-Briggs, Strengths Finder, etc. These tests gave me some valuable information (like, that I am an ISTJ personality type, that my top five strengths are: Achiever, Restorer, Responsibility, Arranger and Harmony) but... now what? What exactly does that mean and what do I do to transfer them into my daily life?

The answer is - I can't! This is an incomplete picture of my strengths.
As per Marcus Buckingham (and his many books on strengths), our strengths consist of Skills, Knowledge and our Personality.

Personality is our personal profile that the personality tests, mentioned above, measure and help us uncover. These are our inborn characteristics, our gifts, talents, and quirks that we were born with. They will stay with us throughout our life time. They will not change! And they are important to know and understand.

Knowledge is learned. It's what we learn at school, observe in our homes and communities. Things that we can adjust, re-learn and retain. Things that we are interested in, and which can change at different stages of our lives.

Skills are how we use the knowledge that we gain. They are also learned and get better as we practice them. We gain and loose them as we adjust our priorities and interests throughout the lifetime.

All of them together make up our Strengths! That doesn't mean, however, that if one of them is missing, it's a weakness. It's the best and the most strongest strength when ALL three parts are present: you have skills and knowledge of particular craft AND you have the inborn capability to execute it. Your personal profile helps you to utilize your skills and your knowledge with more ease!

Identifying your strengths is not an overnight, take an online test and you're good, activity. It's something that takes time and intention to dig deep and recognize your true self. But once you clearly know your strengths, you will not only gain confidence and self-acknowledgment, you will grow and succeed in your life and career at a much faster pace. And, you will also have a lot of fun!

You want to use your strengths most of the time. However, this doesn't mean that you should completely ignore your weaknesses. The goal is to manage your weaknesses to the extent that they won't affect your strengths. Even though writing, presenting and dancing aren't my greatest strengths, I still write, dance and practice presentation skills. Some of them are actually fun, even if I am not that great at it.

So, what are you waiting for? Get those strengths identified and utilize all their aspects to reach the success you deserve.

Contact me, if you need a little help.