It’s time. Time to give ourselves permission to be good at what we’re good at and permission to be not good at what we’re not good at.
The challenge is that we don’t always see what we’re good at. It’s usually obvious to others, but not to us. My sense is that we are all gifted in various ways, and we’ve gained skills – consciously and unconsciously. When we use our gifts and skills, often it doesn’t take a lot of effort. Or, it takes a fair amount of effort but we don’t notice. We’re having fun, we’re in the zone. As a result, we don’t understand how gifted or skilled we are.
Even if you haven’t fully acknowledged or fully discovered your gifts and skills, you’ve probably been given some clues as to what your gifts and skills are. Ever have someone say, “you should go into business doing that!”, or “I could never do what you do”? Maybe someone has complimented you on how you do something or on the result.
You remember those comments for a reason. The comments align with who you are. Allowing yourself to acknowledge what you are good at will help you navigate future opportunities. Making career choices that align with who you are is key to being able to add the most value.
Take a few moments to think about the clues you’ve been given about what you are good at doing. Any surprises? (Probably not – you kind of always know.) For me I find it liberating to be able to say I’m good at this and that. It’s not bragging if all you are doing is stating a fact.
The flip side is slightly more complicated (but not too much). What about the things we are not good at? We usually know what we’re not good at too. Sometimes we get direct feedback, like on an annual review, that confirms our suspicion that we’re not particularly skilled in some area. Often, it’s lack of feedback that tips us off. We work really hard on something, and the result gets a shoulder shrug of a reaction. One tricky part is you need to understand who you are getting feedback, or lack thereof, from. Are these people who you trust to tell you the truth? Is it possible you are good in this area but lack the right audience? You’ll need to think your own situation through.
The other tricky part about not being good at doing something is that if we put effort into getting better at it then we just may become more skilled and end up liking it! Just because you are not good at something now doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to become good at it.
My hope for you is that you understand your gifts, skills, and potential, and that you put these to use to positively impact others. Give yourself permission to be good at what you are good at! Give yourself permission to be not good at what you are not good at. And give yourself permission to share your gift, skills, and potential with others – because we really need you!