The Art of Playing to Your Strengths

Playing to your strengths is the gateway to prosperity and fulfillment. When you’re aware of what your good at and you focus on building your skills, doors of opportunity open up. Learn how to place less emphasis on your weaknesses and redirect you attention to expressing your gifts in the world with these steps. (Estimated reading time: 6 minutes)

During one of my visits to London, I spent a day browsing around the exhibits and displays at the Natural History Museum. It was during the peak summer and there was an eclectic crowd of students, tourists, and solitary explorers such as myself.

I took great delight in exploring the various galleries that enhanced my knowledge on the human species, the animal kingdom, and Earthly phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

The most popular section of the museum was undoubtedly the one that housed the dinosaur exhibits. Visitors were enthralled by the attractions, which included the towering skeletal remains of a T. Rex, the skull of a Triceratops and the shells of Oviraptor eggs. It instantly transported them to the Jurassic era when these formidable reptiles ruled the planet.

 What impressed me the most was how each dinosaur, from the tiny Theropoda to the massive Titanosaurus, had distinct bodily features and dispositions that helped them adapt to their unique habitat.

For example, predator dinosaurs, such as T. Rex, had eyes facing outwards on the front of skull to give them the depth of vision to help them hunt their prey. Whereas dinosaurs that were hunted (the plant-eating ones) had eyes located on the sides of their head, which allowed them to see predators from both sides.

Evolution is such that every living entity on the planet is born with attributes and traits that’ll ensure their survival. We humans are no exception. Just as how birds have wings to fly and fish have fins to swim, we possess a blend of characteristics that are not only essential for our survival but which can help us actualize our purpose.

Each of us is endowed with unique DNA that gives rise to distinct aptitudes, talents and abilities. Yet most of us grew up in a system that did not educate us on how to explore our strengths.

Instead, we were told to spend more time working on our weaknesses. The people around us were more inclined to warn us about our shortcomings instead of highlighting our gifts.

Without support from the right role models and advocates, we may easily self-criticize and be hard on ourselves. Focusing on our flaws and attempting to do things that don’t come easily to us is not only demotivating but it steadily chips away at our self-esteem.

If you look at the careers of exceptionally talented individuals such as tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, golf champion Tiger Woods, and singing legend Michael Jackson, you’ll see that they all had family members who validated their potential. From an early age, their family members did everything in their power to nurture their kid’s talents by encouraging them to practice and investing in their training.

If you belong to the majority of us that didn’t receive guidance, you can still turn the tide. You no longer have to your waste time and energy trying to fit into a mold that doesn’t utilize your talents.

The first step is a willingness to acknowledge your gifts and that your commitment to the process of discovery and creating a platform for yourself.

It’s also important to know that everyone has weaknesses and that no one is perfect. Even the most successful individuals in history had weaknesses, but what set them apart is that they learnt the art of leveraging their strengths and minimizing or outsource their weak points. 

From a productivity standpoint, it makes sense to focus on your strengths. Attempting to improve your weaknesses will consume a lot more energy and time, and will deteriorate your confidence and reduce your chances of maximizing your potential.

In the end, it’s your strengths that’ll take you to higher levels of greatness.

Here are five steps you can take to hone in on your ‘superpowers’:

1. Believe in yourself and find support: The ability and willingness to play to your strengths always comes from a solid inner foundation of personal power and self-esteem. If you aren’t confident about your capabilities and feel out of sync with your inner truth, the first step is to work on your beliefs. Once you have established a secure place within yourself, you need to find a group of supporters who believe in your vision and can offer you advice and encouragement whenever the road gets bumpy.

2. Get clear on your strengths: The way to gain clarity about your strengths is through a dual process of self-exploration and experimentation. You can take an inventory of your strengths by asking yourself questions such as: What am I good at? What am I always complimented on? What comes to me more easily than anything else? What feels natural and does not need effort? At my workplace, what do my boss or coworkers consult me about? Which activities induce a flow state?

In addition to this, you may ask friends, family members, co-workers and mentors for their opinion. Additionally, there are plenty of professional assessments that you can take to add more pieces to the puzzle.

3. Find an alignment with your values: You won’t be motivated to use your strengths if it does not fulfill you on a soul level. The only way that you can find that fulfillment is by creating an alignment between how you express your gifts and your values and purposes. Have a look at your top five personal assets and ask yourself: Do I feel naturally drawn to this strength? Do I feel excited or energized by it? Answering these questions may require some trial and error to see what it feels like.

4. Make time to nurture those strengths: The mastery of any skill is through dedicated and focused practice. Based on the Pareto Principle, you should spend 20% of your time doing what you’re good at and let others handle the other 80% that doesn’t come to you easily. As author, Ryan Kahn, once said, “Master your strengths and outsource your weaknesses.” By following this principle, you’ll become more efficient, creative and productive.

When you know which activities to partake in, focus on doing them to the best of your ability. For example, if you aren’t a stellar public speaker but you’re excellent at communicating by writing then dedicate yourself to writing and becoming one of the best writers.

5. Create the right opportunities: Nowadays, the marketplace favors specialists and experts in their fields. That’s why showcasing your strengths will give you a competitive advantage in becoming a leader who can add value to the world. You need to package your offerings in a way that’ll appeal to potential consumers and fans. Ask yourself: How can I use my strengths? Where am I already using them and how can I do more of it? How much do I use this strength currently – at work, at home, in my hobbies, in my community? Would others appreciate it?

For example, if you have a beautiful singing voice and you have a desire to venture beyond Karaoke booths, you can start by lending your voice to a local church choir or doing small gigs at local cafes. As you improve and gain more exposure, you can create opportunities for getting discovered by the bigwigs and landing that record deal that you’ve always dreamed about.

When Michelangelo was asked about his process of creating a sculpture, he simply stated that he saw the angel in the marble beforehand and that all he had to do was carve into the marble until he could set him free.

Just like a piece of iridescent marble, you too have potential within you, waiting to be expressed and manifested in the outside world. All you need to do is see it and let it come to light.

All my best on your journey,

Seline

Question for you: What are you naturally talented at? What steps can you take towards playing to your strengths?

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