What are you Good at?

When is the last time someone asked you that?

When is the last time you asked yourself that?

So, (you probably saw this coming) I have to ask:

What are 3 things you're really good at?

And what are 3 things you're really bad at?

Which question was easier to answer? Hmmm.

If it’s easier for you to answer “What am I bad at?” than “What am I good at?”, welcome to the club.

Most of us are experts at naming what's wrong with us. But we're not so great at celebrating our talents. Why?

Don Clifton, known as the father of strength psychology (pretty cool title), was wondering the same thing nearly six decades ago. He asked:

"What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what's wrong with people?"

That question led Don and a team of Gallup scientists to invent the CliftonStrengths assessment, now used by millions of people to discover their natural talents, and StrengthsFinder 2.0, written by Tom Rath. Both of which made my notes-app as on the 'must do, must read, must share' list. You can get the full book with the access code to take the CliftonStrengths assessment on Amazon (what I recommend), or you can take the assessment directly through Gallup. There is also the free High Five test.

Note: I have no affiliation with any of the options, but I am a big fan of the formal CliftonStrengths assessment because the top five theme report is awesome.

Okay, back to our scheduled program.

Remember when I said that most of us are experts at naming what's wrong with us. But we're not so great at celebrating our talents. The opening paragraph of StrengthsFinder 2.0 answers why that is.

"At its fundamentally flawed core, the aim of almost any learning program is to help us become who we are not. If you don't have natural talent with numbers, you're still forced to work in that area to attain a degree. If you're not very empathetic, you get sent to a course to infuse empathy into your personality. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to our shortcomings than our strengths." (Rath, 2007, p. 3).

The book invites us to lean into our strengths rather than take the path of most resistance. It challenges the familiar “you can be anything you want” message and instead encourages us to focus on how people reach their greatest potential by building on who they already are. The author illustrates this idea by writing:

"The reality is that the person who was always struggling with numbers is unlikely to be a great accountant or statistician. And the person without much natural empathy will never be able to comfort an agitated customer in a warm and sincere way that great empathizers can. Even the legendary Michael Jordan, who embodied the power of raw talent on the basketball court, could not become, well, the "Michael Jordan" of golf or baseball, no matter how hard he tried." (Rath, 2007, p. 7).

As an optimistic, Type A, entrepreneur-loving kind of lady, when I first read this in 2017, my reaction was: No way. I am not going to advocate for people to stop following their dreams and becoming whoever and whatever they want to be. Uh-uh. Not me.

But as I matured and returned to the book in 2023, I realized… yeah. It actually makes a lot of rational sense.

Why try to be something you’re not when you can build on who you already are?

This idea is echoed in Atomic Habits, where James Clear writes:

"The secret to maximizing your odds of success is to choose the right field of competition (in reference to Michael Phelps trying to become an Olympic-caliber distance runner at a height of 6 feet four inches and a weight of 194 pounds). He goes on to write that "Habits are easier to perform, and more satisfying to stick with, when they align with your natural inclinations and abilities" (Clear, 2018, p. 218).

Sounds a lot like strengths, hm?

"You want to play a game where the odds are in your favor," (Clear, 2018, p. 218).

Yup. Putting my optimistic, half-glass-full attitude aside for a minute, I want to invest my time playing the game where the odds are in my favor and working hard at what comes easily.

Where am I going with this? I wondered that too for a second there. But stay with me. I promise I’ll tie a bow on it in a clock tick.

To reach our greatest potential, we have to start by revisiting what we’re good at.

And then? Do more of those things!

We can do that by weaving our strengths into what we’re already doing (the quick fix), or by realigning our personal or professional lives so we can work hard at what comes easily.

And wait… here’s the cool neuroscience part.

Research shows that when we use our signature strengths at work (even if we don’t love the job), it can lead to greater overall happiness (Seligman, 2004).

More on that next week…

Find one thing that brings you joy today.