In my last post I challenged you to make a list of your strengths – not to brag but to honestly acknowledge your innate gifts and talents. If you’ve never given your strengths much thought, it might be because (like most of us) you take them for granted. They come easily, so you assume that everyone can do what you do. Not so! While I’m passionate about speaking to audiences and writing books, there are many things I’m not good at… and I’m perfectly OK with that.

How, exactly, do you define strengths? Your strengths describe the things you love to do and have a passion for doing, and the areas in which you excel. They come naturally, give you immense satisfaction and create confidence in your abilities. And just because you’re “good at something” doesn’t mean you have to do it forever. You probably know friends who enjoyed their careers and are now enjoying retirement as they explore new adventures. Other friends have “reinvented” themselves by learning new skills (some serious and some just for fun). No matter who you are or how old you are, it’s never too late to add to your “skills inventory.”

Everyone has different strengths that contribute to who they are. It’s a waste of time to feel guilty, embarrassed or uncomfortable when you focus on the strengths you don’t have instead of appreciating your unique gifts and abilities.

Remember the characters in The Wizard of Oz? The scarecrow longed for a brain, the lion, courage and the tin man, a heart. Of course they already HAD those strengths long before they met the wizard. They were so focused on what they lacked that they didn’t realize or appreciate what they had.

The scarecrow, the lion and the tin man had all the strengths they needed for happiness and success, once they were willing to dig deep, look inside themselves, and claim their strengths with pride. You can do the same. (And you don’t need a wizard to tell you that!)

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