Education
THE KEY TO SUCCESS? BE MORE YOU
“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” — Dr. Seuss
S
uccess is the art of being who you already are. You make the greatest contribution when your energies are focused on expanding and living your unique talents and abilities. By acknowledging and working from your signature strengths, you can become the best you can possibly be, and by achieving your peak potential, you can contribute deeply to the world. Yet our society supports the opposite. Instead of building on strengths, attention and focus is most often placed on correcting our deficiencies. It seems to be a global obsession to focus relentlessly on our shortcomings with messaging designed to make us question our inadequacies. This scarcity mindset keeps us stuck and focused in a downward spiral of negativity that affects our self-esteem, self-confidence and joy. In contrast, a generative strengths-based approach amplifies what is already good and turns it into great. Playing to your strengths means you can contribute more. Living into your strengths brings you alignment, happiness, and joy. The work in the area of Strengths-based Psychology, founded by Dr. Donald O. Clifton, supports this generative approach. Clifton worked with author Tom Rath and a team of Gallup scientists with a goal of starting a global conversation about what’s right with people. Through their research they discovered
that “People have several times more potential for growth when they invest energy in developing their strengths instead of correcting their deficiencies,” as Rath noted in Clifton’s 2007 book StrengthsFinder 2.0. What could feel better than knowing your biggest successes will come from magnifying your innate signature brilliance? “What?” you say. “I have no brilliance. I am only average.” Let’s get one thing straight — everyone in this world is unique. In fact, your DNA and your set of life experiences have created a You who is different from anyone else. For the greatest and easiest path to success, you simply need to be more of who you already are. Focus your energies on increasing your capacity in those areas in which you have natural ability. Be more You. Not convinced? Consider this: it is selfish not to acknowledge your strengths and step into them. By embracing your strengths, you will be more of the best parts of you, and the whole world benefits. Playing small shuts down the possibilities of our contributing fully to the world. It takes but a simple mindset shift to feel the benefits of switching from scarcity thinking (“What is wrong with me?”) to abundant thinking (“What is right with me?”). Follow these four steps and see how your life changes. (Without you changing!)
STEP 1: IDENTIFY AND ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR STRENGTHS First, and most importantly, you must do the work of identifying your strengths. What makes you You? If that’s a tough one for you to answer, it could well be the biggest area of potential improvement (your “growing edge” area).
Exercise: Create your “I AM” List
Grab a piece of paper and set the timer for three minutes. Write a list of 20 of your qualities and strengths. Dig deep and get at the strength underneath a learned skill. For example, instead of writing that you are a good accountant, write the qualities you have that make you a good accountant such as being analytical or thorough. If you have trouble filling your list, think of talents or qualities you have that others think are fantastic but that you perhaps don’t acknowledge because they are just “who you are.” If you get stuck, ask those close to you what they see in you. Your homework: Fill up your list of 20.
Reflection:
Which of those twenty qualities do you most enjoy using, or exhibiting, or sharing when interacting with others? Circle or highlight those as your signature strengths.
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| January 2020
