One of my favorite quotes says “What makes you STRONG sometimes makes you STRANGE. What makes you STRANGE, also makes you STANDOUT.” Give that a minute to sink in. Most of us don’t want to think of as strange but we do want to be strong, and we do want to stand out. With the new year here a lot us are making resolutions and setting our goals for the next year. When you are trying to decide what you should do during 2019 that will make you strong and stand out on what are you basing those decisions? Are you looking at what makes you strange to make those decisions?
My guess is probably not. What would happen if you did? What if you stopped for a minute and took a look at you and took inventory of what makes you “strange” – what makes you uniquely you and thus gives you your unique talents. When you begin to tap into your unique talents, you will find insights into your life that will change the way you live and have a fantastic impact on how you will live the rest of your life.
We have a tendency to see creating resolutions or setting goals as an opportunity to “fix” what is wrong with us. Our financial situation, our weight, our relationships, our jobs, and the list goes on and on. We seemed to be able to look at what is wrong with us a lot easier than we look at what is right. After the first few weeks we give up on the goals and resolutions, and we are right back where we were. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we try to motivate ourselves out of our perceived weaknesses?
You will find the most significant areas of growth and the desire to live in those areas if you begin with your strengths in mind. In your strengths, you will find your most natural self, and you will not be trying to improve what you see as a weakness but work in the areas of your life where you are strong, and your natural rhythms flow. What sets your soul on fire? What makes you want to learn more about it and grow in it? What connects you to you at a deeper level than ever before? That is what you are looking for. Author and founder North Point Ministries Andy Stanley says “Your time is like currency it is limited, and it is valuable. You need to invest it and not just spend it.” Just like you invest your money in yourself, invest your time in yourself.
Now that you have found these elusive things – what do you do with them? Use them to inspire your actions. Take your top five strengths and create your action plan to reach your goals. How will each of your strengths support the work you want to toward your goal? Work in those strengths not to fix something broken but to become the person you want to be and be that person every day. Don’t look at them as these are my goals and I have to meet but view them as an intentional part of your life from this day forward.
Where do you want to invest in you in 2019? Think about your top 5 strengths and create your action plan based on these strengths to move forward on this investment. Need some assistance re-framing your mindset this way and get moving on that action plan? Need to know what your top 5 strengths are? Set up your Ask Brent Anything call and let’s get you started strong for 2019.
