Focus on Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses
Author: Curtis George Norton Jr.
July 12, 2019
Everybody has
desires, or wants, and at least an idle wish to attain them. Therefore,
everyone desires success or achievement in something, even if their particular
wants might seem very basic to someone who is highly motivated towards loftier
goals. (Even being idle can be a goal!)
Most people have
goals that are broad and vague or non-specific. These might include things like
“I just want to be happy” or “I just want to be rich”. As we meander through
life we may incrementally get closer to these wants, but there are proven
methods to fast-track goal attainment.
We all realize, at
one time or another, that there is not enough time to do everything. Successful
goal-setting and achievement is much more effective when efforts are targeted.
This does not only
relate to specific goals, but also to our attitude and methodology in achieving
goals in general. To succeed in life, you will make more rapid and effective
progress if you can focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. To be
even more effective, you don’t need to focus on all your strengths at once.
This doesn’t mean you
should not make efforts to overcome your weaknesses, however, if most of your
time is spent doing so, you will have little left to add value to your life
using your strengths.
Make a List of Your
Capabilities
Write down a list of
your strengths and abilities. You don’t have be the best person you know at
doing a thing to include it in your list. Simply list things you feel capable
of doing, and traits that you feel help you get things done.
Take a little time to
prioritize your list, with your greatest strengths at the top. The top few will
give you the most bang for your buck – that is, you will achieve more, in less
time using these skills and attributes than if you employ others further down
the list.
Invest Your Energies in Your
Strengths
The more you focus on
your greatest strength the more rapidly you will achieve both goals and
personal growth. We achieve goals by completing the tasks that contribute to
achieving the goal.
By structuring our
tasks around our strengths, we make the whole goal so much more rapidly
attainable. As you direct your energy towards maximizing this strength, you
will learn to let go of tasks that are simply distractions.
It is very
enlightening to look backwards and realize how much you have got done by not doing other things, or by doing them
differently, that would have otherwise diverted your time away from your
successful achievements.
You will feel more
motivated, energized and inspired to perform even more activities to achieve
your goals. As a bonus, you will find more meaning in almost everything you do.
Instead of just ‘doing’ and walking the daily grind, you will feel more
accomplished and directed, as you learn to let go what is not important.
What Happens if You Focus on Your Weaknesses?
Why is it that when we focus on our
strengths we become more productive and we are better able to increase our
chances of becoming highly successful?
According to research, if we force our
minds to focus on the tasks that we are
not good at, our mind will more strongly promote the development of
negative neural pathways. These negative pathways become avenues for a
self-defeating attitude.
In time, you may find yourself feeling
depressed, overwhelmed and having feelings of failure. This is common when we
give all our strengths, weaknesses and goals equal priority, and it seems we
are not using our skills and gifts, and nothing seems to be getting done.
Awareness of Opportunities and Solutions
The more you do what you are good at
and the more you like doing what you do, the better you are developing positive
thoughts and emotions. This is healthy for your mind and excellent for your
future productivity!
You will feel less stressed and able
to complete one task after another. This creates a positive circle. The more
you accomplish, the better you’ll feel, and the faster you’ll reach your goals.
By focusing more on your strengths, opportunities and solutions will present
themselves that you might not have otherwise noticed.
When you dwell on your weaknesses,
your brain state will blind you to possibilities, and quite possibly miss
seeing great opportunities, even if they present themselves before you.
Focusing on your strengths is not just
a trite saying, it is a way of life that has helped many people to become great
at what they do.
"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." -- Vidal Sassoon
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