What Are Your Strengths? Here’s How To Find Out
Want to know what are your strengths? Here’s a definitive guide to everything you need to know about your strengths.
Let’s chat about what are your strengths. It’s time to find your strengths and choose your success.
If you want to know WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS then you have come to the right place!
If your goal is to be both successful AND happy in life (and why not aim for that?), you need to take some time to really consider your strengths and how they may benefit you, not only today, but also in the future.
Your goal is to work from a place of strength, not weakness.
So what about your weaknesses? Should you focus on them too?
I think not, at least not to the same extent. The only time you really need to focus on your weaknesses is when working out HOW they may interfere in your ability to achieve success.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Tools to Help You Identify Your Strengths
There are numerous tools that you can use to help you identify your strengths.
- 16 Personalities – This website offers some free and paid online tests to help you learn your personality better. It’s based on the work of Jung and Myers personality types. The test is designed to give insight into your own natural abilities and skills. Be as honest as you are capable of being when taking the test. There are no wrong answers. Be truthful.
- Truity.com – Also based on Myers Briggs, this personality test has a free version, too. It focuses on finding your four letter personality type so that you can understand how you work with yourself and others.
- Read a Book – There are several books about finding your strengths and the advantages of doing so. A book like StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work by Marcus Buckingham can help you find your way.
- Find a Life Coach – Sometimes you may need some outside help finding your strengths with a non-biased, well-trained person such as a life or business coach. Interested in coaching? Click here.
- Get a Mentor – Seek out a mentor who will help you determine and improve upon your strengths. Remember, mentors are not strangers that you ask. They are people who are ahead of you in the career (or personal) track that you want to be on and know your potential.
Use these tools to help you determine your strengths.
How to Further Evaluate Your Strengths and Weaknesses
In addition to these tools, there are other ways to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible.
You can start by asking yourself the following questions:
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
1 – What do you do every day?
Most people tend to spend time on the things they like to do more than the things they do not like to do.
If you find yourself easily making time for activity A but avoiding activity B all the time that tells you something. People gravitate toward things they’re naturally good at doing.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
2 – What do other people think you do?
The people around you likely have an opinion about what you are good at and what you’re not good at.
Usually, they have an idea in their minds about what they think you do all day long.
Ask them for their opinion! If you have a best friend or sibling, they can help you truly identify what others think of you and think you’re good at.
Admittedly, sometimes what people believe you’re good at is a little different from your own opinion.
It doesn’t mean you or they are wrong, but if there is a difference in perception here, you should try to objectively identify why that’s the case.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
3 – What do other people say about you?
What strengths come to mind when other people think of you?
What would they tell you you are great at?
Do they see something that you may not be seeing?
Ask them to be honest – the truth will help you immensely here in terms of your personal development.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
4 – What do you like to talk about?
Usually, most people find themselves talking about the things they are good at doing and love to do.
Listen to the way you speak about things – what sets your heart on fire? What makes you feel excited and happy in life?
Occasionally you may also find yourself focusing on negativity and talking about the things you dislike, hate, or are failing at.
But pay attention here too! These things are important to note, too.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
5 – What is one mistake that you keep repeating?
Do you find that you keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again?
Let me give you a hint: this could indicate something which ISN’T YOUR STRENGTH and it can usually be traced back to insisting on doing things that just aren’t natural to you.
As long as these tasks or qualities aren’t essential to your success, you can let go or aim to delegate these types of weaknesses, thus avoiding more mistakes.
Your goal when asking these questions is to see both your strengths and your weaknesses within the answers.
Capitalize on Your Strengths
Now that you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can begin to focus on the strengths you want to develop and the weaknesses that matter to you as far as they affect your ability to see your strengths through to success.
ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR STRENGTHENING YOUR STRENGTHS
Say No
If it’s possible, start by saying no to tasks that don’t emphasize and take advantage of your strengths.
You honestly do not need an excuse to say no – if your God-given right to do so! – but if you feel slightly uncomfortable about doing so, come up with a backup plan. Just say you have to check with your calendar or your spouse first. Then say no later.
Transfer Your Skills
Are you super organized at work, but your home life is a little chaotic due to lack of organization?
Why not share some of your work skill of organization with your home life to help you find more joy at home?
Keep Learning
If you have a weakness that is interfering in one of your strengths, identify steps you can take for improvement.
Don’t stress about it; instead take one step each day to learn something you need to know.
For example, if you need to learn about a topic, find books and read at least 30 minutes each day.
By the end of the year you’ll have become an expert in at least one subject.
Don’t Like Something? Stop Doing It Then!
You really don’t need an excuse, but if you strongly dislike doing something, you don’t have to do it (unless it’s necessary for the goal you are chasing – in that case, you will need to delegate the task).
Start with the things you can easily stop doing right now.
Identify the things that you want to give up and create steps toward being able to give it up or delegate it.
Remember your goal is to focus on your strengths first!
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Strengths First
Make it your goal to spend more quality time doing things you enjoy doing that you are good at.
If you make it a goal to spend your time for the most part doing PRODUCTIVE things that you ENJOY and are GOOD AT DOING, your life will feel even more successful as every moment will be a pleasure.
Develop Your Skills
Some people may think that avoiding your weaknesses means you won’t ever be learning anything new.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Even among your strengths there is much to learn. Know which strengths you want to develop.
Then, take small steps each day to become even better.
For example, let’s say you’re great at public speaking. You love public speaking. You know it can be a real asset to your chosen profession.
Join a speaker’s group, read about speaking, practice speaking even if you need to go out and do it for free.
The more you do it, the better you will become.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone and plan an event of your own that you can showcase your speaking talents at.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Leave Your Comfort Zone
Yep that’s right. Focusing on your strengths doesn’t mean you don’t have to ever leave your comfort zone! You still need to step outside your comfort zone!
Focusing on your strenghts doesn’t mean you won’t feel challenged.
It doesn’t mean you won’t face failure.
It doesn’t mean everything will be a piece of cake.
You still need to push through anything uncomfortable.
Define Your Expectations
Once you’ve chosen a couple of talents and skills to develop, decide what you expect the end result to be of your efforts.
Do you plan to start a speaking business or do you plan to use your speaking skills to get a promotion at work?
What are the end results of perfecting your skill set?
Working toward your goals little by little, day by day, can make a huge impact on your life.
You don’t have to make huge changes right away; just make small ones each day.
Focus on only one or two skills at a time and you’ll improve your expertise exponentially.
Do Your Weaknesses Matter?
You can be successful based on what you know and can do >> rather than trying to be good at things you’re not naturally good at. <<
You don’t need to give your weaknesses more attention than your strengths!
Work instead from a place of strength.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Understand the Truth
DON’T MAKE YOUR CHOICES on what might be in a few months.
Instead, make your choices based on right now.
So what are your strengths RIGHT NOW?
What can you do RIGHT NOW?
Success is based on who you are and what you know right now, not what you don’t know.
For now it’s your strengths that are important and your weaknesses really don’t matter.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
You Can Do More Than You Think You Can
If there is something you really want to succeed at doing, you can find a way there with your natural talents and abilities.
Don’t let a lack of training, time or anything else get in your way.
You can push just a little bit more and make it happen if you are determined enough.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Don’t Make Excuses
Sometimes you may need to find a way to leverage other people’s talent where yours is lacking.
Sometimes you may need to work just a little harder than someone else to get the same results.
But, given time and effort, you can take your STRENGTHS and turn them into great success. It’s your choice.
When you focus on capitalizing on your strengths over worrying about your weaknesses, you will experience success that much faster.
Place your trust in your strengths and start with WHAT YOU KNOW NOW – that is the best formula for long-term success.
If you become the type of person who takes responsibility for your actions, you can become the type of person who chooses success over excuses.
Choosing Your Career & Relationship Path Based on Your Strengths
One thing is clear, when you know what your strengths are you can start to make choices that positively affect the course of your life.
When you know your strengths, you can make choices based on knowledge and fact, not hopes and dreams.
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
What Should You Do Now?
Everyone on earth has both strengths and weaknesses.
We all have different abilities. Not everyone is going to be a rocket scientist and not everyone will be an artist.
Neither profession is better than the other. They are simply different.
So ask yourself now: What would you do with your life if you could only do what you really love doing, and are good at doing?
How much more successful would you be if you could let go of trying to improve on your weaknesses and instead focused on developing your strengths?
WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?
Start by analyzing what it is that:
1) you know you’re good at,
2) what other people say you’re good at and
3) what you love doing.
This will go far in helping you determine how to move forward.
“Don’t die by your weaknesses, live through your strengths.” Mark S. Kerr
SUMMARY: Evaluating Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Write Down the following:
- What do you like to do every day?
- What do other people think you like to do?
- What do other people say about you?
- What do you like to talk about?
- What is one mistake you’ve repeated?
Capitalize on Your Strengths
- Practice saying No.
- Identify skills you can transfer from home to work and work to home.
- Develop your strengths.
- Stop doing things you dislike, when possible ( remember outsourcing )
- Avoid negative people.
- Leave your comfort zone.
Develop Your Skills
- Identify your strengths.
- Take one step a day towards improvement.
- Act like a manager: Develop strengths.
- Define expectations.
Determine if Weaknesses Matter
- Know what the truth is, right now.
- Center your activity on what you can do.
- Know that you can do more than you think you can.
- Avoid making excuses.
Use Tools to Help You Identify Your Strengths
- Take at least one personality test.
- Identify famous people with your personality type.
- Read positive books about strengths.
- Find a life coach.
- Identify potential mentors.
The benefit of focusing on your strengths over weaknesses is a life full of happiness and success over one of frustration, regret and unrequited goals.
Feed your strengths today or risk watching them fade away.
Before You Go…
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With a degree in psychology, Frances Vidakovic is a certified life coach, course creator and host of the Inspiring Life Podcast. Her superpower is transforming dreamers into doers, with simple, kick-up-the-butt strategies.