Wouldn’t it be great to be able to greet each day with enthusiasm, because you know it will be filled with things you love to do? Is that even possible without being on vacation?
One key to living each day with joy and enthusiasm is recognizing and working with our own unique talents and abilities. Unfortunately, our society is more focused on identifying people’s deficits rather than their strengths. We’re taught, in a misguided sense of modesty, not to talk about what we do well. After years of focusing on their weaknesses, many people have difficulty identifying or articulating their strengths. If you spend a lifetime working on your weaknesses, however, you may end up with nothing but strong weaknesses! In recognizing your unique talents and abilities, you take the first step toward optimizing them.
Your unique talents and abilities will serve you well if you identify, maximize, and leverage them. Each of us is more productive when we are doing what we do best. If our goal is to maximize our personal potential, focusing on what we are gifted at is essential. We feel a greater sense of significance when we are making a contribution that flows uniquely from who we are. We also enjoy doing things we do well, which means that working within your unique talents makes for a more joyful life.
How do we get our lives and careers on track so that we are in that “zone” – the joyful, productive place where we are doing productively what we enjoy and do well?
1) Begin by listing those things you do very well that seem practically effortless. What do you do extremely well that differentiates you from others? You do these things so well you even feel energized by doing them. These are your unique talents.
2) Next list the things you do well but require more effort and concentration. You’re able to do these things excellently, but you do not experience the boundless energy you have for those activities which lie within you’re your unique talents.
3) Now list the things in your life that you do adequately but not well. You struggle with these things, and although you may be competent at doing these activities they drain your energy reserves. These are definitely not your gifts.
4) Finally, list the things that you do poorly. These things cause you frustration and fatigue. Simply thinking about doing these things makes you tired. These energy leaks are things that you should avoid doing at all costs.
5) Decide now to hold every opportunity up to this unique talents yardstick. Ask yourself, “How effectively does this opportunity utilize my unique talents and gifts?” Will I enjoy this and do it well, or will I struggle unnecessarily? If an opportunity lines up with your unique talents and personal gifts, it can help leverage and maximize your potential. If it is on the second list – something you can do excellently, this is another area worthy of your investment of time and energy. You will be effective and productive working in these areas. If it is on your third list, those things you are competent at but will take more energy and fuel less enthusiasm – consider carefully if it is the right opportunity for you. It may not be. Lastly, if it is on your fourth list, things that your struggle with and that sap your energy, you’ll do well to pass on it. These are the things to simplify, automate, delegate, or eliminate.
Once you become keenly aware of your unique talents and how positively they impact your success, you will be in a better position to say “no” to the things that slow you down and hold you back and to say “yes” to the opportunities that best fit you as an individual and multiply your effectiveness and the realization of more of your potential.
You’ll know you’re there, working in that “zone,” when you wake up in the morning filled enthusiasm for the day ahead -- and you’re not on vacation! You’ll experience more joy and fulfillment in your life – two things that we all want more of.
Next time:
Unique Talents in Your Organization
