Are you putting yourself in the right place to win?
There’s a spoon and there’s a fork.
Each serves a different purpose.
You eat soup with a spoon. You twirl spaghetti with a fork.
Try mixing them, and you’ll end up hungry and frustrated, barely catching any soup, letting the noodles slide off before they reach your mouth.
The same applies to people.
When you try to average humans, fit them into generic molds, you end up not quite with soup, nor with a lot of noodles. You lose texture, flavor, brilliance. You get a forgettable meal instead of a one-of-a-kind, many-course dining experience worth remembering. Ever wonder why in top-tier restaurants every dish seems to have its own silverware?
Are you a fork or a spoon? On strengths and boldly owning flaws.
Are you in a place to bring your excellence into the world?
Or still trying to be good enough at everything, hoping someone notices what a good, well-rounded person you are?
Excellence doesn't try to do everything. It’s okay to miss out, because it is committed to the one thing.
Lately, I’ve been listening to the CliftonStrengths podcast, taking their extended assessment today, and pairing it with a pack of resources from the Positive Psychology toolkit on strengths-based development.
Partially, I want to set myself up to thrive - do great work, deliver more value, win more often.
Partially, I want to become a better facilitator of strengths-based growth - for teams, for organizations, for change agents like you.
Positive psychology research reminds us,
Focusing on fixing what’s wrong doesn’t guarantee a life that feels right.
Eliminating disease doesn’t equal thriving health.
Fixing flaws doesn’t create high performance.
In fact, the most successful people?
They’re anything but well-rounded.
I’m asking myself today,
What are the strengths I should double down on?
What flaws can I make peace with?
And what projects or paths will stretch my gifts and feel fun doing it?
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive" ~ Howard Thurman
A good strengths assessment can help.
I’m doing this CliftonStrengths 34 today, it's more work-related.
But you?
What are YOU built to do best?
And are you letting the world taste that?
