Leverage your Abilities

Leverage your abilities; Skills vary. We must … strive by that which is born in us. Pindar

The beauty of life is the variety around us; be it the flora and fauna, the exotic species of animals, the widely varying topography or the wonders of the human race where each individual is so different from the other. In fact that difference is what makes the human race distinct from robots. The thought process, the temperaments, our attitudes and our skill sets are so varied and unique that no two individuals are alike. If we analyze ourselves, we will be sorely tempted to compare our abilities with that of someone else and draw our own conclusions.

To be successful and happy we need to understand the many talents and strengths that we have within us and leverage them. There is no one who has no strength; even if he is mentally challenged or physically challenged (except if the person is mentally ill). An honest analysis of ones strengths, will bring to the fore talents, abilities, qualities and attitudes which you never knew exist within you. You can understand these strengths by listening to feedback, paying attention to the compliments and the brickbats, studying your success and failures and being open to learning from your experiences and interactions.

Learn to love your strengths. This is critical because, quite often we are distracted by some inane illusion of power, success and a jackpot in the waiting, by day dreaming about imitating a successful idol of ours. Reality is that there is a gold mine within you that you are not tapping, fabulous opportunities that are slipping by and assure success if you simply leverage your strengths instead of succumbing to the lure of following the herd or giving into the prodding’s of well meaning family and friends, who have little or no idea of your personal powers.

When pursing your passion be ready to face failure, for success is a demanding mistress and she will want you to woo her long and hard before she allures to your temptations. If you have faith in your abilities, work hard to leverage it, enjoy doing it and are prepared to wait for success, you can salivate and taste it much before you actually begin to relish it.

Remember : “We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.”

Try These :

List out 20 strengths that you posses. Ask a close friend(s) and your sibling or spouse to also give you a list of what they perceive to be your strengths. Compare the lists. What overlaps could be reasonably assumed to be your core strengths. You can attempt a similar exercise for weakness. If there are clashes between your strengths and weakness re-examine them in perspective. E.g. your language is excellent but your communication is weak. This sounds contrary; so drill it to specifics.
Outline the professions you would have loved to be in, if you had a choice. Ask yourself how much of your current strengths are being leveraged by you in your current profession and how much of it you can leverage in a new profession. E.g. You are n IT professional but your real passion is hospitality. On the face of it sounds so opposed but if you can visualize the linkages, you could move into IT solutions for hospitality industry, cater to hospitality requirements of IT industry, tweak IT & hospitality to create a niche market etc.

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com