The remarkable advantages of knowing your strengths

Just like an eagle can’t possibly fly without its wings, a person can’t function well without knowing his/her strengths. Even though God has given you a calling, it doesn’t completely work out if you focus on an aspect of that calling that you’re not competent in. 

Competence is all those things you can do well, naturally or taught. Your skills. Skills you’ve gained in all kinds of areas and abilities you master mentally, physically and emotionally. You’re good in them, those are your strengths. You want to leverage that. 

Jesus has equipped his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph. 4:11-12). God has given you exactly what you need. Use it!

How do you find out what your strengths are?

You might think: that makes sense but I have no idea what my strengths are. I’m perfectly aware of my weaknesses, however… This sounds familiar and it’s good that you’re here, reading this blog. Because now you can start finding out what God has put inside of you. 

Ask yourself:

• What are things I particularly enjoy?
  Things you enjoy point to your competencies.
• Which activities give you the most appreciation of your environment?
  What people say or affirm about you helps to discover what you’re good at.
• Which topics are of interest to you?
  Sometimes you might have strengths in areas that you don’t particularly enjoy. Those competences are learned during a time you had to learn them or when someone else requested them of you. It doesn’t necessarily mean you enjoy them or are interested. Your given competences, on the contrary, are competences you enjoy. You enjoy the work that comes with it. Make that distinction. 
• What comes naturally to you?
  Some competences come natural to you, those can be called gifts. Some people have the gift of listening, of speaking or of cooking for example. Things that don’t require much effort from your side are most likely very great strengths of yours. What comes naturally?

Once determined what your strengths are, you have created more focus on opportunities for growth. Strengths can be made stronger way more easily in comparison to weaknesses. Of course, you can turn weaknesses into strengths, but it will take you more time than improving your strengths.

Knowing your strengths will reduce time spent on your business

Can you imagine that if you know your strengths, you know where you need to focus on? It will be tasks that you are good at and will take less of your time than the tasks you’re not particularly good at. Once you know how to distinguish those tasks from “good at it” and “not good at it” you will be able to delegate the “not good at it” tasks to people who are actually good at them.
Delegating therefore is very important once you’ve become aware of your strengths.
Delegate what you’re not good at and you’ll free up time in your business. 

God wants you to work with what you have received.
You are not responsible for what you do not have, but you are responsible for what you do have!

Do you know the parable about the three servants that all got an amount of talents? Matthew 25:14-30. The third servant, the one who was given one talent, is not held accountable for the fact that he had 'only' one talent, but for the fact that he did not work with that which he had received. 

So knowing your strengths will help to clarify what you need to focus on in your business and what you need to delegate.

You will dare to take risks

Using your strengths in what you do, makes you confident in what you do. It will help you take risks in certain areas to foster even more growth.

In order to reach results or make profit, you have to take risks.
The speaker will have to face a growing audience.
The social media expert will have to face the variables of the platform.
Nobody can experience 100 percent growth without the risk!
In the parable, the reproach to the third servant is also that he was 'cowardly'. He did not dare to take the risks of exploiting his talent. But you will!

It will fuel personal growth

By taking risks you will be able to grow in what you’re doing. When we look at the parable of the talents again, we see that the third servant was playing it safe and put the money into the ground. He did nothing with it, he didn’t risk anything nor did he use it to grow something. The lord was not pleased by that. The lord was pleased with what the other servants did, who multiplied their talents. And I guess, even if they had used it and lost some of it, the lord still would have been satisfied given the fact that they tried. That is one of the messages of this parable.

To do nothing is to decline God’s call to action. To stay stuck in your fixed mindset. You’re playing it safe and wasting your skills. But by tapping into your competences, you’re creating space for growth and show your Maker you are ready to multiply. 

Life is a journey. We as human beings keep developing throughout this journey. It’s a never ending exploration of what God has put in us and into our hearts. Take time to identify and use it.