SWOT you got?!

• August 23, 2022

Question of the day… What are you good at? No—scratch that. What are you *great* at?? Go ahead, make a list. I’ll wait…

Now be honest—did you find it difficult to answer that question?

I speak to people on a weekly basis who are desperately desiring to create change in their lives. But when I ask this question, many of them struggle to come up with answers. The unfortunate truth is that many people tend to focus on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. Yikes! Well, we’re fixing this today, people. Because being intimately familiar with your suite of strengths is CRITICAL to your productive and prosperous life journey.

How to Assess Your Strengths

 An excellent way to get a 360 perspective on yourself is to conduct a personal SWOT analysis. Yep—the same ol’ SWOT that you use at work before launching a project or building a product. Except this time, it’s all about you. 🙂  For those not familiar, SWOT stands for:

Strengths – all the things that you are personally good at

Weaknesses – all the things that you are do not excel in or like

Opportunities – external opportunities that you could connect your strengths to

Threats (or Barriers) (Ok.. SWOB, then) – the barriers in your life that could stand in your way

Take some time and write out lists for each item.  It’s important to keep in mind that strengths are more than education, business, achievement-based qualities.  Strengths can also be, being a good listener, a good parent, a good host. Don’t hold back! Be realistic and honest in your assessment. Ask yourself–what things you are just *naturally* better at than most people, without having to try very hard?

Having a comprehensive, realistic perspective of yourself is helpful to:

• identify areas where you might like to start a business
• identify jobs and opportunities where you are most likely to shine
• better present yourself in a job interview
• increase your overall confidence

And while the SWOT exercise did also identify your weaknesses, we can use that information to know where we DON’T want to spend a great deal of time (unless it’s absolutely necessary).

We tend to have the most success when we’re focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses.

Once you’ve got your comprehensive list of strengths you can also use them as a part of a daily ritual or practice.  Daily affirmations anyone? Or perhaps write them out on post-It notes and place them on your bathroom mirror as a pick-me-up when you’re have a rough day. Or read them to yourself as a confidence boost before an important meeting or job interview.

Working with your strengths allows you to bring your special sauce to the world.  We need your unique gifts and talents! And spending time engaging in activities in those areas will also make you feel more alive and more purposeful.