What are you good at? Tell me with confidence what your top strengths are.

Did you freeze like I did when asked “what are you good at?” Why do we have such a hard time answering this question? Is it humility? Or something else? It was explained to me that a lot of people have difficulty answering because strengths can be so automatic, like a default setting, that we aren’t aware we are using the strength.

I feel like Identifying our strengths feels scary because it requires vulnerability. Oulafitness.com says “Come as you are… just be yourself.” Having the freedom to just be ourselves is… amazing. Knowing our strengths is a part of establishing a deeper connection with ourselves.
And there is so much power in knowing our strengths.

There are many ways to go about this self investigation of strengths. You can explore the questions like:
What do you want to be known for?
What are you known for now?
What do you stand for?
What past experiences have shaped your life?
What makes you different?
How have you been successful in the past?
Who should know about you?
What are your areas of expertise?
Who are your role models?

You can ask trusted family, friends, and colleagues to describe your strengths, skills, and values from their perspectives, then ask yourself:
What words, adjectives, and phrases are frequently used to describe you?
What strengths and skills do you hear mentioned repeatedly?
What common themes seem to be coming up when it comes to your personal and professional experiences?

There are also many strengths assessments on the internet. I took the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, wrote out reflections on my top five, and then discussed them with a career coach. Sharing your strengths with colleagues can help them learn how to work with you better, learn how to utilize your strengths, and improve your team dynamics.

Learning your strength can also give you confidence and clarity. You may have an “AH HA” moment, and have a greater understanding of the major decisions in your life that were influenced by your strengths. I love the idea of playing to our strengths. Let’s do what energizes us, do what we are good at.

My coach offered a word of caution around strengths results. Just because we are good at something doesn’t mean we always have to do it or be known for it. It is possible to get burned out on a strength, and you have the autonomy to choose to rearrange the priority level of your strengths throughout your life.

The strength assessment I took split strengths into 4 categories: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. I had 0 strengths in the Executing category, 3 strengths in the Relationship Building category: Positivity, Relator, and Developer, 1 strength in the Influencing category: Self-Assurance; and my strongest strength by far fell into the Strategic Thinking category: Learner.

Learner = a person who constantly strives to learn and improve. “The process of learning is just as important to them as the knowledge they gain. The steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence energizes Learners.”

Yup. That’s me. The result was unexpected. Learning is more of a default for me so it was hidden, and my coach pointed out that strengths are not a performance indicator. They aren’t something that you have to be using constantly. A perfectionist mentality would say that because I don’t read every day, I’m not a learner, but that isn’t correct.

In conclusion, I encourage you to do some self reflection and identify your top strengths. It takes courage to be strong. Be courageous and learn to confidently use your strengths in your life.

In 2016, Emilie was teaching a HIIT class and decided to stick around for the next class called Oula. She loved it! When she discovered there was another version of Oula called Power , YEESSSS! She knew Power was for her. Emilie is a powerhouse who loves to jump high, fly through burpees, and show push-ups who’s boss. Emilie will help you modify to maintain good form, guide your attention to focus on the targeted muscles, and push you to do one more quality rep!