Know Your Own Strength

24 Shares

Do you know your own strength? All too often we highlight our weaknesses and downplay our strengths.

We are often much stronger and more resilient than we give ourselves credit for.

Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Any compensation I receive does not affect the price you pay.

Here are some thoughts to consider when it comes to knowing your own strength.

Are you even aware of your strengths?

It is going to be hard to get comfortable with your strengths if you are not aware of what they are. Or worse, if you don’t think you have any (which of course isn’t true, everyone has strengths in some form).

So what are your strengths?

When you are thinking about this, you might have a few different reactions. If your self-esteem needs improvement, you may struggle to get your list of strengths rolling. Most likely, your mind will automatically jump to your weaknesses and insecurities.

One other option is your ego could kick in. This exercise is not about boasting, bragging, or trying to feel better than someone else. It’s not about falsely propping yourself up. You need to leave your ego at the door for a moment.

This is about uncovering your core strengths, the ones that make you who you are.

An excellent book that deals with mental strength is 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin.

What are you really kick-ass great at?

Think about all of the things you are great at.

Perhaps you are brilliant at your job. Drill down even further though, what parts of your job are you good at? Are you a great negotiator, do you dazzle at sales, is your forte customer service and giving the customer exactly what they want? Do you love helping people? Do you have a passion for inspiring people?

Think of your relationships – are you a great comforter, a good listener, a loyal and supportive friend, a wonderful mother or father, or a loving and kind partner? The list is endless.

Most likely you have a lot more strengths than you are giving yourself credit for.

Having a strong sense of self-worth can provide you with inner strength. These posts can help improve your self-worth.

Use your strengths to your advantage

Once you know what your strengths are – use them. Having trouble making a decision, consider your strengths (not to mention your values). Knowing what you are good at and knowing what is important to you can help you make quicker, easier decisions.

Strength is also what keeps your vices and addictions at bay (or at least under control.)

An important point to remember, your strengths to build upon and take advantage of are the ones you enjoy, the ones that give you satisfaction and joy. You may be brilliant at something, yet find no joy in it.

Related post – 11 Ways You Are More Powerful Than You Think

Don’t take your strength for granted

All too often we take our strengths for granted. People who have been through a lot of adversity are particularly prone to this. They might even consider what they have been through as ‘normal’.

Acknowledge your strength. Give yourself credit for what you endured and learned from.

Use your strengths to help others

Don’t keep your talents and strengths to yourself. Help people with them. Volunteer or join an organization where you can make a difference.

It may simply be a matter of helping someone close to you – a friend, family member, work colleague, or neighbor.

Your strength in turn could offer support and hope to people in need.

Take stock of what you have overcome

Strength can be defined in a number of ways. If you’re in a job interview and they ask you, ‘What are your strengths?’, they are no doubt asking you to tell them what you are good at in line with the work you do. It will certainly help your interview chances if you can clearly articulate what those professional strengths are.

Strength also comes in another variety. The courage to get back up, when you have been kicked good and hard. I think everyone at some point in their lives knows what this feels like. Heartbreak, divorce, death, and grieving all take incredible amounts of strength to cope with.

It’s not until you go through something incredibly traumatic that you realize how strong you are. Granted, it probably doesn’t feel like it at the time. You are more likely to feel weak and helpless.

When despair strikes and you are right in the thick of you, you mostly feel like you could crawl into a hole and stay there. But you don’t. Strength and courage are what get you out of that hole and send you back out into the world.

Strength in this capacity should not be underestimated. People have endured some horrific things and amazingly come out the other end.

If you are looking to build your resistance, an online course I recommend is How to Be Bold, Resilient, and Better Than Ever by Tabatha Coffey. This course is from the inspiring folk over at CreativeLive. CreativeLive has a wide range of personal development online courses, so make sure you check out what they have on offer.