Do you ever compare yourself to others?
It’s hard not to.
One thing you might look to others for are the qualities you’d most like to develop within yourself.
For instance, you may aspire to have others’ confidence, work ethic, courage, or kindness. Or maybe you admire their intelligence, resourcefulness, or business savvy.
But the truth is, you have your own set of strengths–attributes you were either born with or developed over time. We all have been endowed with unique strengths and gifts.
It took me nearly 30 years to figure that out., which is when I started studying human potential. Until then, I didn’t think I had any strengths that I could claim as my own.
However, my studies showed me that if you start focusing on the spectacular parts of you that come together in perfect harmony just to accomplish the writing of your name, you begin to see the wonderful, complex person that you are.
Add to that your ability to do certain things, like fix electronics, take beautiful photographs of nature, match a person’s hairstyle to their personality and lifestyle and you begin to discover the absolute, awesome uniqueness that resides only in YOU.
You Are a Natural
It’s hard for many people to identify their gifts accurately.
You may not recognize yours because your strengths and gifts are as much a part of who you are as your smile or laughter.
Plus, you may think your gifts have to be tangible, such as being a natural-born athlete, singer or politician.
But if you think that way, you’re missing the boat. You can also have intangible strengths.
You may be a terrific storyteller, for example. Or maybe you always keep a cool head under pressure, can establish instant rapport with people or find a hole in a logical argument.
While it’s not always easy to identify your strengths and gifts, it’s well worth your time to uncover them. Leveraging those gifts can allow you to get ahead in life and realize your dreams. Not to mention, when you tap into and develop them, you can have an enormous positive impact on people’s lives.
All this leads us to the question…
How in the world do you identify
what your strengths, gifts and talents are?
I’ve found three effective strategies for uncovering clues that can lead you to discover your natural strengths and gifts:
1. Ask 10 (or more) people who know you well.
Talking with people you know is the easiest and most dependable way of identifying your strengths and gifts. In fact, if you interview ten people from different areas of your life, you can skip the two strategies listed below.
To correctly identify your strengths, you’ll need other people to hold up a mirror. That’s because research shows that people are wildly inaccurate judges of their strengths—for everything from their ability to think logically or reason with others to being able to tell a funny joke or be generous.
We’re too deep into our own heads to notice many things about ourselves, especially things that come naturally and easily to us. These things are much more apparent to someone watching from the outside.
Take some time to talk to your closest friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else that has been around you for a long time.
Speak only with people you believe will be willing to be honest with you—not people who are going to stroke your ego (such as employees if you’re a business owner). Ask the people you talk with what they believe your strengths and gifts are.
You’ll discover surprising and interesting tidbits of information you never knew about yourself as you go through this process. So this exercise can be just as fun as it is worthwhile.
2. Identify when you “lose time.”
If you don’t have many people to ask about your strengths and gifts, the next two points can be particularly helpful.
Can you think of times or circumstances when you were doing an activity where time seemed to stand still? Perhaps you were writing in your journal, solving a puzzle, playing a musical instrument, or designing a house, flyer, or website.
Identifying these moments, the ones when you were in such a state of flow that you lost yourself in the work or activity you were involved in, can provide valuable clues that you should pay close attention to in searching out your gifts and strengths. That’s because entering a state of flow is a sign that someone is adept at the activity.
3. Uncover your passions.
Closely aligned with what you’re good at are the things you love and have a passion for.
Similar to how a state of flow is a sign of a strength or gift, when we truly enjoy something it becomes more effortless for us to perform it. And when it is easier for us to perform a task, we naturally become (or are) better at it.
When it comes to the things you love and have a passion for, you have the potential to very quickly and much more easily excel when compared to the average person.
Because regardless of whether you are naturally gifted at the activity or not, your passion for it will fuel your progress faster than anything else will. Often, it’s this passion and ever-burning enthusiasm that results in greatness in people.
Somewhere, Somehow You Will Bless Others
You’re not on this planet to be like everyone else. You have unique strengths and talents that no one else has.
So, take the time necessary to discover your strengths so you can begin putting them to good use. It’s an important part of learning how to be the best possible version of yourself.
When I figured out what my gifts are, I started sharing them with everyone I came across. And it has made a phenomenal difference in my life and, in countless cases, the lives of others.
Make it a point to develop your strengths—the things that make you unique—as much as you can in this lifetime. Because if you want to excel at anything, it’s not enough to fix your weaknesses; you also need to leverage your gifts to the greatest extent you can.
To your success,
Bob Proctor
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