Forget Your Weaknesses... Tell Us Of Your Strengths
It's frightening, but not very surprising. If you're asked to identify your weakness, you'll come up with a handful super quick... do the same for your strengths however, and you'll be left trying to figure out two
“You need to go all in on your strengths”
- Gary Vaynerchuk
For some reason, we find it much easier to identify our downfalls than what makes us great - and because of this, there's immense power for the young athletes & adolescents who can identify their strengths and make them even greater
It’s an age old debate… do we solidify & build on strengths, or do we focus on bringing up our weakness to a higher level
Many people will tend to think that being an “all-rounder” or a jack/jill of all trades is the best option - as it makes you malleable… you can adapt yourself to many different situations
But that’s far too common… that is, in essence, becoming mediocre at everything… becoming an average joe
Or becoming a wandering generality, instead of a meaningful specific as the great Zig Ziglar would put it
Look at the athletes at the top of their sports, or those at the top of their fields/careers - many of them are specialists… many of them have strengths
And as the phenomenal Chase Jarvis writes “you need to amplify your strengths rather than fix your weaknesses”… it’s about going all in on what you’re good at and passionate about
And if you read Tim Ferriss’ “Tools of Titans”, where he deconstructs world class performers, billionaires, and other “successful” people - you’ll find one key commonality between the close to 100 people interviewed…
The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths. Humans are imperfect creatures. You don’t “succeed” because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them
Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about. Everyone has weaknesses. Everyone struggles. So no, you’re not alone. Take solace in that.
And with that, instead of focusing on the negative. Instead of getting caught up in everything you’re supposedly shit at - focus on the good in the scenario… focus on those strengths you have
And know, that with enough energy, focus, and time - you can learn any skill required… so if something isn’t a strength right now but it needs to be in the future in order for you to be come the athlete & person you desire to become, than you can learn that skills and develop it into a strength
If you want to discover what your current strengths are, here’s a few idea’s:
- ask five of your closest friends or family, who know will be brutally honest, what they perceive your strengths & weaknesses to be
- sit and reflect, in total honesty, what you believe your best skills & biggest strengths to be - and in order to become the athlete & person you desire to become, what skills/strengths do you need to develop…
- take the http://www.viacharacter.org/www/ test