How to Play to Your Strengths
Photo by Benjamin Davies CC0
Caption: Make happiness your goal.
Have you ever wondered about whether you’re fulfilling your potential? If you want to escape the daily grind of your routine and instead, start feeling joyful about life, you need to identify your strengths and play to them. Many of us have hidden strengths that we ignore because we don’t have the time, money or energy to indulge them. However, if you identify where your natural talent lies and build your life around it, you will find yourself effortlessly happier, healthier and more at peace.
Identify Your Talent
The first step is to identify where your natural strength and talent lie. Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates started off pursuing a law career at Harvard but dropped out in favor of his growing interest in computer programming. If he hadn’t made the decision to follow his natural ability and enthusiasm, then the world’s largest PC software company might never have happened, and Gates wouldn’t have achieved his potential.
It might feel impossible to identify that one thing that you’re good enough at to dedicate your life. To start with, think of something you enjoy — something that you feel a real enthusiasm for and would want to do every day. It needs to be something that you are not only good at but excel in beyond most other people. Even if this is spending hours on the PlayStation leveling a video game or making the best poached eggs in the morning, it’s a starting point and can take you further than you might think.
Caption: Find your passion.
Make the Most of It
Next, you need to think about how to turn this specific skill into something bigger. When Chris Moneymaker entered the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event back in 2003, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. But he did believe in his ability and put faith in the hard work he dedicated to honing his chosen craft. Nowadays, he has the Moneymaker PSPC Tour of the U.S., helping other poker players around the country to follow in his footsteps and win big.
It might not seem obvious at first which path to take but following your strengths can only lead to success. That’s because when you’re doing what you’re good at, it brings positive results, gives you more energy and motivates you to go further. Video games tester, chocolate taster and island caretaker might all sound too good to be true, but they’re all real jobs that utilize people’s niche abilities.
Look for an Opportunity
Once you’ve identified where your strengths lie, it’s time to look out for an opportunity to apply them in real life. Sometimes, this means thinking outside the box and creating that opportunity for yourself. One of the most successful stars to come out of the blogging boom has been a British woman named Zoe Sugg. She began her YouTube vlogging (video blogging) empire from her bedroom, recording product reviews, clothes hauls and beauty tips and talking about her interests. Fast forward almost a decade, and Sugg now has 12 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, a range of beauty products available in nationwide stores and is a best-selling author. She has successfully built a business around herself, marketing her values and interests through exclusive products.
It might look like a lot of hard work to pursue your dreams, and that’s because it is. It takes dedication, courage and faith to turn what might only be a hobby right now into a career that can support you through life. However, it is much more work to keep doing something you are not best suited to do, not fulfilling you and unlocking the potential within you.
Identifying your strengths is the first step, and once you’ve done that, you’ll find that everything else follows more easily. After all, what could be easier than doing what you do best?