5 Simple Steps to Leverage Your Strengths

There are many advantages to building and utilizing your strengths:

1. You make a bigger impact on the world when you utilize your strengths more often. The entire world benefits when you put your strengths to work on a regular basis.
2. You can enhance your self-esteem by spending your time doing things at which you excel.  When you’re good at something, it feels good to do it and builds confidence. When you do things poorly, the opposite tends to occur.
3. You can boost your career. Playing to your strengths will allow you to be more efficient and provide more value to your employer.

These are just a few of the benefits of making the most of your talents, abilities, and skills. What other benefits come to mind?
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Leverage your strengths and have more influence on your world with these strategies:

1.  Identify your strengths. You can’t leverage what you aren’t aware of. What are you better at than the average person? What are the things that you are naturally good at and excel in? Here are a few ideas:

• Influencing others
• Networking
• Problem solving 
• Writing
• Computer programming
• Communication
• Education
• Athleticism
• Photography

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Check out this article if you’re having trouble discovering your strengths. Be sure to ask your friends, family, and colleagues for their opinions. You may have strengths you never considered. The people around you may have noticed things you’ve failed to notice about yourself.

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2.  Build confidence that these really are personal strengths that you possess. What proof do you have that you’re a great writer, listener, or public speaker? Look at what you have accomplished in regards to this particular strength. Pretend you’re in a job interview. What evidence would you give that you have writing skills for example?

• I have written for three very popular blogs for over a year.
• I have completed several college courses in creative writing.
• I’m currently writing a book.
• I have written four articles for various magazines.
• Do this for all of your identified strengths.

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3.  Determine how you can put these strengths to work for you. Consider your current job, social situation, finances, and every other aspect of your life. How can you leverage your skills to boost your life?

• Are you in the correct job to take full advantage of your skills?
• Do your hobbies utilize these strengths?
• Could your strengths be used to build a stronger social network?

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‍4.  Make a plan. Develop a plan to make the most of your strengths. It’s okay to start small, but avoid selling yourself short. Maximizing your strengths is your way to the top. Set goals, research activities or careers that would allow you to leverage your strengths.

Make a plan to apply your strengths to at least three key areas of your life. Be aggressive in your long-term outlook.

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5.  Continue to build your skills to a higher level. Never stop developing your strengths. And remember to reevaluate your strengths each year. You’ll develop new strengths over time. Ensure you’re continuously building and evaluating yourself.

Create a second plan to develop your greatest strengths even further. What resources do you have available to you? Are there books or seminars that are applicable? Could you find a mentor? 

Your strengths are unique to you, and the way you apply them can be just as unique. Make the most of your natural and acquired talents and maximize your life. The entire world benefits when you’re applying your strengths each day.

Don’t forget that you can choose skills or qualities that you would like to have as strengths and work towards those! Following these same steps will allow you to acquire and build new strengths.

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