So many times, when we think about who we are, we go first to our weaknesses. We believe the lie that our flaws are on display for others. Sometimes, we become so concerned with this that awareness of our strengths seems to slip away.  

Do you do this?

I’ll admit, I did. In fact, not only did I no longer nurture or even notice my strengths, but when other people commented on a strength of mine, I assumed they must be being insincere.

No, sadly, I’m not exaggerating. I so strongly believed that my weaknesses defined me that I lost the ability to perceive that I actually had any talents or abilities.

Yet today, I embrace my strengths, rather than fighting them. And I Iook at my weaknesses as available opportunities to grow, not as handicaps that define me.

So what changed?

The only thing that changed was my mindset.

I realized that my strengths were the gifts I received when I entered this world. That I had a choice: I could cherish, nurture, and multiply them, or avoid them, live in fear of my own potential and live with the knowledge that I was merely existing in an inauthentic way, hidden from myself. Lost. It was all up to me.

I felt a sense of responsibility. I am the only one ever who has had or will have this unique combination of gifts.  I am the only one who can develop them to their fullest capacity, and use them to make my exact, original, positive impact on humanity. I have no idea yet what that looks like in its entirety, but If I give up on them, I never will.

I could look for other strengths, seek them out, feel like I should be able to do/be/feel other things, but in the end, I would always be searching, always be focusing on what I perceived to be holding me back.  And the flip side is that I would be avoiding stepping into who I could be. And all because it was easier to focus on my weaknesses than to step into my strengths and risk all that that entailed.

It all became crystal clear to me. I could consciously choose to live a vastly higher quality life. And so, I took the plunge. 

It was only afterwards that I began to understand the enormity of the positive impact this would have on the many facets of my life. Today, I share with you a few of the biggest highlights that being strengths-oriented can bring.

4 Benefits of Embracing Your Strengths, Rather Than Being Constrained by Your Weaknesses:

Self-Confidence

Understanding your strengths helps you understand your unique capabilities and skills, which boosts your self-awareness and helps you build authentic confidence. When you know who you are and accept yourself, you worry much less. You know you can contribute to the world. You are aware of your own high value as a human being.

This actually changes how you relate to your environment. You don’t let other people, or any other external factors, define how you view yourself. You are optimistic, intentional, and aware of the possibility that exists all around you.

Improved Relationships

As a result of your increased awareness and self confidence, your interpersonal interactions become completely different. Rather than coming from a place of weakness and helplessness, you approach others from a position of authentic confidence.  You are able to communicate your needs and boundaries more effectively and in ways that consider the needs of those around you.

All of this changes how people receive you. Others are attracted to your positive energy and want to connect to it. They trust you more, because you trust yourself more. Your relationships become more authentic and more fruitful.

Decision Making

Because knowing your strengths increases your overall clarity of who you are and what you can do, you become more able to make decisions that align with your values and goals. This awareness also helps you with the decision making process itself, in that you can step into your stronger ways of thinking when faced with a difficult decision, and find a solution.  Decisions become not only easier, but better. As a result, you become more secure in your choices, which helps you to take risks and pursue new opportunities that you may have otherwise avoided.

Time and Resource Allocation

Knowing and understanding your strengths allows you to allocate time and resources, which improves the efficiency of your work. For example, I excel at intuitive, unconstrained tasks like understanding people, envisioning possibilities, connecting ideas and being creative. I am less strong when it comes time to focusing on very specific, limited tasks where I need to follow a paradigm that someone else creates for me. Delegating those types of tasks, rather than beating myself up for my poor progress as I suffer through completing them, enables me to pour all of that energy into growing in my zone of genius.  

Because I know my strengths and am actively developing them, I know where in life and business to delegate.  Before, when I was trying to do it all. I wasn’t prioritizing using my time and attention on the tasks and areas that are uniquely suited to me.  I was wasting  opportunities to thrive. 

Are you thinking to yourself, “Caroline, I already do that. I focus on what I’m good at.”?  

I get it. I thought I was doing that, too. But there is a difference between focus and intentional FOCUS.  You can focus on the things you are good at in order to competently get the job done.  Or you can FOCUS, and dive deep into your strengths.  

When you FOCUS, you find yourself in a state of flow, removing the walls around your brain and becoming immersed in a particular zone of genius. This is where creativity abounds, problems are solved and original thoughts and connections flourish. This is where skill grows at a rapid rate.  This is where abundance is born.

Ultimately, it is up to each of us to decide, multiple times over the course of our life, to accept, appreciate, and access our gifts. As we evolve, our strengths will evolve with us. We will discover new superpowers we didn’t realize lay within us, new ways to use capabilities we weren’t aware of, and how to lean on our strengths to transform less strong aspects of ourselves into vehicles for growth. We all have the capacity to thrive. It is whether we have the courage and intentionality to choose, at each fork in the road, to take the less traveled path towards doing so that makes all the difference.

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Are you ready to transcend your own limitations, step into your incredible, unique abilities, and soar beyond what currently appears to be possible?

I help women with unfulfilled dreams become clear on their unique zone of genius, embrace their purpose, and become confident in and able to apply their personal power. My own superpower is seeing more in you than you can see in yourself and helping you lean into it!

If you’re ready to go from surviving to thriving, click the link below and book a free 1-on-1 coaching session with me!