Cultivating strengths
Find solace in yourself and in your strengths. Cherish the power you have.
I hope this newsletter edition will trigger you to reflect and value your strengths. Self-reflection seems such a good idea in 2024 when everything we have learned changes. I hope this will help you find solace in yourself and your strengths and see the power in you.
Developing something to a level that we can call a strength will take months, even years, of work. It is an ongoing, long, sometimes dull process with a sole idea: never give up. Use your curiosity to keep going to see how this develops itself to something worth calling your signature strength.
Going after your unique signature strengths is a profoundly personal, even intimate process. Strength can be cultivated from experiences, people, travel, reading, telling, hearing and internalizing stories and probably more. When we see another person's strength in practice and get inspired, we should cherish that moment and consider why it appeals to us. What if we have it in us, too, still unlocked?
Everyone has strengths; that is just how nature works. We need strength to survive. Usually, when people are asked about their strengths, they mentally jump into their latest performance review to remember what their boss had to say in the strengths area of the talent platform. The reality is that for most of us, the job is not where our whole personality shows up, so your strengths are partially covered, hidden, or even protected from the workplace. What you have been told in performance reviews can still be accurate, but only partially.
Consider the most critical moments of your life and how you dealt with them. Can you find patterns? Perhaps you were resilient and could go through challenging situations, or you used your humour to solve problems. You may have a tremendous visual taste that makes everything you produce look and feel more sophisticated.
Check out the VIA character strengths survey if you need help defining your strengths. Surveys like this one allow us to start thinking about our strengths. I would take the results with a grain of salt because humans are too complex for a survey to define us. However, it is an excellent way to start thinking about our strengths.
Now, let's do an exercise. Let's call it finding my way back to my authentic self.
Visualize your strengths
Choose a specific strength to focus on each week.
Take a moment to visualize how this strength can be applied in various aspects of life, including work, personal growth, and relationships. It can be anything. Hard skills, soft skills, or whatever you want.
While thinking about it, remember that strengths can span through different categories; they can be intellectual (creativity, curiosity, love of learning), interpersonal (social intelligence, teamwork, leadership, fairness), emotional (honesty, zest, resilience), practical strengths(self-regulation, prudence, adaptability, appreciation of beauty) and much more.
Find ways to practice your strengths constantly. It can be at work, on a side project, or during your studies. We continuously focus on our growth areas or weaknesses, but we need to remember our strengths are the qualities that move us forward. So, spend more time cultivating what you are best at.
Prevent negative self-talk
Make a list of your strengths and repeat them if you experience imposter syndrome. You don't have to say them out loud in a grocery store. You can write them somewhere on your desk to see while on calls or working. This can help if negative beliefs about ourselves show up.
If you like affirmations, here are some thought starters to build upon:
If the strength is humility, an affirmation could be, "Every person I meet today has something to teach me, and I welcome their wisdom."
If the strength is curiosity, an affirmation could be, "I celebrate my curiosity as a pathway to growth and discovery."
Modern therapy tells us that thoughts lead to emotions, and emotions lead to actions. So, imagine if you tell yourself each day about your strengths.
Strengths in action
Everybody has a purpose, a mission, a voice that needs to be heard, and a story to be told. We are pivoting and reimagining, and some of us are rebuilding ourselves from scratch in 2024.
Knowing your strengths is powerful in a world of constant change, where many are reinventing themselves. You need to name your strengths, remember them and use them regularly. They are our survival map, way finders, proof that you have done it, experience it and know how to get it done again. You got this! Everything can change, but what you have in you is still there and can help you get wherever you want.