About a year and half ago, I was introduced to the concept of strengths management.  Having grown up as someone who always looked at overcoming weaknesses, this was a really hard topic for me.  Frankly, it’s something I still struggle to fully grasp.  

I’m glad it was in my 30s that I’ve discovered this.  Yes, it would have been easier to give myself the grace beyond had I learned it earlier, but I think I’ve come to a place where I’m comfortable with who I am.  For the most part, who I’m going to be is who I already am.  Yes, some life circumstances that I’ve yet to experience may shape and form my mindsets, but I am who I am.

The strengths management model challenges you to look at what you bring to the table, who you are in work style, personality, etc and be all of what you bring.  And, find and build a team around you that fills in the gaps from your weaknesses.

For a boss, discovering their team can be transformational. When you know who sits at your table and what their strengths are and what makes their hearts soar, you can build a team of people who are working from their happy place most of the time. What I had been doing was figuring out my strengths and maintaining them while trying to improve my weaknesses.  And, what happened in those moments was mediocrity in my strengths and some small, if any improvement in my weaknesses, but tons of frustration filling my space. But, when I shifted to looking at my strengths and making them greater, I’ve found more personal satisfaction in my work and really finding that when I work in that place and the best of who I am and what I bring to the table, my whole world fills fuller.  My heart is satisfied and my life fills full.  

So, for me, realizing my purposes and passions and working and building life from that place has MAXIMIZED fulfillment. 

While its comfortable and ok to try to make those areas of weakness better and be aware of them.  Its detrimental to progress to focus on them and become engulfed with making them better. We all have weaknesses.

Let me repeat that because I needed someone to say that to me directly. WE ALL HAVE WEAKNESSES.

We need weaknesses to have strengths. If we didn’t have weaknesses then the things that make us AMAZING would just be who we are; nothing positive or negative, good or bad, strong or weak. We would just be. But, because we have weaknesses, we have strengths. And, its ok.

Exhaustion comes when we start trying to be what we are not. Trying to pull or give from a place that doesn’t fulfill us or where we are weak. Some blogger gals have been keeping it real through a #30daysofReal challenge.  For me, today, keeping it real means realizing I’m just not good at some things. 

There are things I’m not good at, and that’s ok. There are things I cannot do. There are clothes I will never wear. There is a lifestyle I will never live or feel comfortable in. There are things on my to-do list that I will not ever get done. But, there are things I am amazing at.  I can bring the fun – the party if you will. I can bake a mean dessert. I can encourage and discern a situation. I can sum up a bunch of conversations and feelings into a few words. I am and can be a lot of things.

My #30daysofReal – give myself the grace to be amazing at being me! (and wearing yoga pants to bible study because I want to discuss life in stretchy pants.)