Identifying Your Personal Strengths
There is too much negative self talk going on in my office. Some conditions, such as bouts of depression can temporarily impair our view of ourselves. However some people are chronic self haters! No one can perform while being chastised and so can’t you. In order to be productive and happy, we need to focus on our own set of personal strengths which make us unique and add to our value to the world around us. Identifying your personal strengths is a step that can help you to better understand yourself. It is important to understand our personal strengths in order to utilize them to the fullest extent and become truly fulfilled with our lives and careers.
Methods to identify your strengths
There are many ways to discover your personal strengths. There are methods that ask you to search within yourself, and others which ask you to investigate by talking to trusted friends and family. The following are just a few of the many methods:
1. Take note of what you enjoy doing
a. If you find yourself doing something in particular often, it may be an indicator of the skills you naturally enjoy. Examine what elements of these activities are and see if you can find any patterns or overlapping skills among them.
2. Ask somebody you trust
a. Self reflection can at times be difficult, especially if you are used to being modest. When figuring out your personal strengths, you may want a second (or third, or fourth) opinion. You can ask your trusted friends and/or family to share with you what they feel are your strengths. The answers may even surprise you!
3. Reflect your favorite qualities in yourself
a. You may be able to identify your personal strengths based on the qualities you like about yourself. For example, if you like that you take responsibility for your own actions and are a generally authentic person, one of your strengths may be integrity.
4. What makes you good at what you do?
a. If you enjoy your work, think about what in particular it is you enjoy about it and why. If you do not enjoy your work, think instead about what is missing in your work.
5. Take a free online test eg. lifehack.org
As I previously outlined, I usually recommend focusing your growth on enhancing your strengths, as opposed to get good at many many things (which is rarely if ever possible anyway). The first step of that is knowing what you’re good at!
