Have you ever felt like you’re not strong enough to do something hard? Maybe you’re going through a challenging time, or practicing a skill at the moment. Are you feeling the tugs of insecurity and weaknesses pulling you down? Or maybe you’re trying to identify your strengths because you want to figure out your life path and mission.
Everyone in life will hit hard times at one point or another. And we all need to know that we have strengths. Weaknesses, insecurities, mental illness, and more are also a part of life. But they’re definitely not the whole story! You can find strength within yourself and use those strengths to create your beautiful life. Let’s dive in to discover how to do that!
Reflect on previous hard times
We’ve all gone through hard things before. Was there a specific hard time that comes to mind when you think about the experiences in your life? What did you learn through that time? How did you get through?
When we look back at hard times in our lives, it helps us appreciate how far we’ve come and what we’ve learned.
Notice the things people say about or to you
Do people comment on a particular skill or talent that you have? Listen and pay attention to when people say things like:
- “You’re a great listener.”
- “How did you get so organized?”
- “I love that you ___ (fill in the blank).”
- “It’s so neat how you did ____ (fill in the blank).”
Most people, especially those who have your best interest in mind, will share positive things about you. Try to pay attention and listen when things like the previous examples are said. You’ll be surprised how listening to other people, and evaluating their words, will help you find your unique strengths.
Ask someone
Taking it a step further, you could simply ask a trusted friend, family member, or mentor about your strengths. There are more people than you know who are willing and invested in your success. They are eager to share your strengths with you, to build and empower you.
Just as people have shared the good things about you with you, turn around and help the next one in line too. 🙂
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Figure out what you enjoy
If you’re not sure what your strengths are, you can always start with the things you enjoy. What are you passionate about? Are there issues that deeply concern you? What are some things you enjoy? What, about those things, do you most enjoy?
As you explores your hobbies, passions, and interests, you might find patterns that help you figure out what you enjoy. Finding what you enjoy helps you find your strengths too.
Also read: How Successful People Think
Strengths aren’t always tangible
A lot of people have performance based strengths, or hobby-like strengths. For example, a person might be very skilled at playing the piano, building something, or designing a project.
But not every strength is like this. In fact, these are more of skills than strengths. Strengths from within consist of values like integrity, courage, or compassion.
Don’t get down on yourself because your strengths are not performance based or something that others can see from the outside. Strengths come in all shapes and sizes.
Don’t get prideful
It’s hard to find strength within if you’re prideful.
Pride blinds us from seeing who we truly are. It can take a huge blessing, like a strength, and turn it into an obsession. Pride can also make our strength the only thing we fall back on. It limits us, because we rely solely on our strengths instead of trying new things.
The thing is… our strengths help us get out there and try new things. We will make mistakes and fail, because we all have flaws and weaknesses. But the cool thing is that trying new things helps us turn our weaknesses into strengths.
It’s important not to get big-headed by our strengths. We’re not better than anyone else, and God wants us to use our strengths for good.
Ask God for help
This article wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging our Heavenly Father. As a child of God, you have the divine potential and capability to do anything you set your mind to. Nothing and no one, except yourself, can stop you.
If you’re really struggling to find your strength, ask God to help you. As you pray and ask for help and guidance, He will show you your strengths. It might not be in the way you expected: a friend could tell you straight up what they think of you; a loved one could slip you a kind note, or an observant stranger might point something out to you.
God speaks to all of us differently, so pay attention and be willing to listen. He will show you exactly what you need to know about yourself, and how your unique strengths will help you succeed.
Also read: Do You Know Who You Really Are?
Appreciate weaknesses too
While we’ve been talking about how to find strength within yourself, it’s important to remember that weaknesses play a role in our lives too.
We all have weaknesses, but those who face their weaknesses head on can actually turn them into strengths.
A personal example of turning weakness into strength
For example, here at Kanani Life we run a blog and YouTube channel. We’re not perfect at everything we do—and we don’t intend to be. However, we realized that if we wanted to put ourselves out there, we had to overcome the weakness of 1) caring what people think of us and 2) get used to speaking in public, in front of others, or even a camera!
We decided to take an Improv Comedy class. You’re probably thinking, “Why?” A friend recommended it, saying that if we wanted to get better at public speaking and confidence, then this class would help.
The first few classes were incredibly awkward. But, after some time, we learned to stop caring what people thought of us and started to enjoy the process. We’re not perfect at public speaking (as you can see on our YouTube), but we’ve overcome the fear of speaking our minds and speaking in front of others.
Those weaknesses seem so distant now, but it was worth it to turn them into strengths.
Don’t be afraid to appreciate and turn your weaknesses into strengths. You’ll be surprised at the natural confidence and skills that come with recognizing and facing your weaknesses.
In conclusion
You have plenty of strengths. When you take the time to ponder and identify them, you’ll be surprised at how blessed you are. We all have to go through hard times, and having strengths to fall back on always helps. Remember that you got this, and no matter what life throws at you, you have strength within yourself. You always did. You got this friend!
What are your thoughts?
How do you find strength within yourself? Is there something from this article that you want to try? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you! Mahalo!
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