Why it matters and what you can do about it now!
Would you drive a Ferrari off-road? If you had a Jeep would you put it up against a Ferrari on a quarter-mile track?
I meet and work with a lot of people who know they can accomplish more and live life at a more engaged level. The resources needed and steps that can get them there can be elusive. When it comes to personal growth and self-care, even securing the best path to your own success, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to take the CliftonStrengths assessment. Find out what you are designed to do – and go do it.
Just like that Ferrari, you will do great when you are “in your lane” but if you try to go off-road you are in trouble. And just like that Jeep, you will struggle on the track but you will excel off-road where that Ferrari doesn’t stand a chance. When the Ferrari and Jeep are where they are designed to be and doing what they are designed to do, they are outstanding!
Where are you designed to be and what are you designed to do? Your top-5 CliftonStrengths talent themes really are foundational to figuring out your path.
I just finished a research project about employee engagement. One of the consistent themes to employee engagement, and therefore your success as a person and employee, is to live aligned to your design: your strengths.
Here are some of the numbers. You are:
6x more likely to be engaged with your job
6X more likely to do what you are best at every day
3X more likely to report having an excellent life (and there are studies that indicate strengths-based living may reduce depression)
Other benefits include a stronger, more stable strengths-based identity, increased productivity, clarity regarding job fit, and more. Just imagine what it would be like to experience doing something you are good at every day and the joy and satisfaction of a job well done, because it is the job you are designed to do!
Maybe most significant are the benefits of less conflict and more enhanced communication in relationships. In fact, I frequently coach couples through their CliftonStrength results.
So, to answer the “So what?” “Now what?” questions, first take the assessment. Know that your results hold important information about your identity, design, and where you will find the greatest success and satisfaction in life.
Now what: take an inventory of your week. How often do you find yourself in “your lane” versus in somebody else’s lane? Be attentive to those times and be curious about how your talent themes are involved.
In the coming weeks, I will provide more information and questions to help you gain insight about your strengths that you can then apply to your life.
If you are tired of feeling stuck in the mud, looking for your lane, or just want more traction in life, I’d love to talk with you about moving forward to discover your best self and your best life.
“CliftonStrengths” and the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are registered trademarks of Gallup, Inc.
