I am exhausted living in a rat race environment, where everyone marches steadily, but almost too obsessively, to improve our weaknesses. Most of us receive negative feedback and find ways to eliminate weaknesses as much as we can, while loading a huge amount of stress on a daily basis. Why not pause and conduct a self-analysis with a strong intention to identify your strengths, and explore ways to focus your energy and capitalise on it instead? 

What was the last positive feedback you received from your peers, managers or friends, and how frequent do you receive that same compliment? Spend some time visualising how, when, and in which scenario you get such compliments and how did you feel exactly at that particular time? How did you react to that?

Did you or anyone else kill that statement by giving another line, but instantly feel you have to improve in these areas? Finding your strengths isn’t a big challenge, what matters the most is to dwell on it, to stay focused with endless efforts and ensuring on-going success on the strengths you have accumulated along the way!

At school, workplace, or home, we are always pushed by surroundings to achieve good grades and better performance. A student with a low score in a subject is tagged as ‘weak’ and often required to attend additional classes to get back on track. We are taught, and expected, to be all-rounders, and excel in everything we embark on.

Few expect us to focus and excel in just one area. In other words, we hardly hear that you did extremely well, and how about focusing on this and taking it up as a career or passion? Most of the time, a student is evaluated based on their scores and numbers tagged to each subject. 

This story continues as we enter the workforce whereby we are fitted into a bell curve and again, a score tag is embedded in us. The annual performance appraisal summarises our daily efforts to our own career growth and contribution to the organisation. Such appraisal is tied to rewards and recognition, and may deviate, and the monetary returns are purely dependent on employee performance ratings!

I grew up with the maxim that everyone has their own unique strengths and should not waste these gifts. These tips may help to break the monotonous day-to-day survival and give a new perspective to your strengths. 

Find your strengths

By now, we may have identified our strengths, yet it depends on which time of our life we are experiencing it. A good way to achieve this is, as mentioned earlier, to recall what were the last few compliments and who congratulated you. Look for them and explore further the strengths they see in you. Next, catch up with your circle of close friends or childhood friends, as they are the ones who know and understand you the best. 

Don’t get bogged down with worry about weaknesses 

At times or most of the time, we worry on what we don’t have in life. Nobody is perfect, so take a chill pill.  Be prepared for worst-case scenarios, as it helps you to manage crisis in an efficient way. Worry takes you nowhere, so keep marching forward and do not worry so much about weaknesses, whether big or small!. 

Focus your energy on your strengths

Try channelling your energy and efforts on your strengths and witness how you improve. Find ways to further enhance your potential and strengths, and even to the extent of commercialising them. Create an internal focus and energy. Allocate your resources and find creative approaches to capitalise your strengths. For things to change, we have to change first, right?

Encourage, encourage and encourage 

Be a self-motivator, especially at the initial stage. Spend more time drilling down your strengths, the areas in which you’re excelling and performing well. On a self-analysis note, recall the incident where everyone praised you. What were the compliments for? Feel good about yourself and do things that you love.  In simple words, find things that excite you!  

Prakash Santhanam is a highly passionate Blockchain, Meta NLP, BRMP, CIPD, DDI, DiSC, Hogan and Harrison certified Talent Management/HR professional with over 10 years of global experience. He has a Master of Information Technology and Corporate Communication and an international track record across various countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.