5 Steps to Tap into Your Talents

A common misbelief in our society is that the best way to succeed is by fixing weaknesses.

The problem with this is that whereas you can always get a little better, the areas in which you can achieve true excellence are limited. Without an underlying talent, you can’t achieve outstanding results on a consistent basis. Fixing weaknesses is therefore never a path to success but merely a survival strategy.

What is a talent?

My definition of a talent is simply a strong natural characteristic that you can productively applied . It is nothing fancy. Talents are not some kind of magic abilities. They are simply characterises that define what you do, feel and think.

1. What do you spend your time & money on

How you spend your money and time? The two are closely linked to your strong characteristics and can tell you a lot about your natural tendencies.

For example, if you are naturally pulled towards creating new relationships, you will spend more time and money on experiences that allow you to meet new people. Whereas if you are naturally inclined to deepen pre-existing relationships, you will spend more money and time doing things with friends and family.

2. What can you simply not help doing?

What do you repeatedly do, feel or think that makes you feel good? Spend the next two days writing down everything that energises you. Then, see what part of the particular activity make you feel strong. What are the necessary conditions that you enjoy it? Be as specific as possible.

For example, one of my strong patterns is being drawn into the future. Thinking about what the future might hold energises me. But only when it comes to my own future. Thinking about your future, for example in the role of a career advisor, would drain me big time.

3. What do others love about you most?

Ask others what they value most about you. Is it because you are an amazing listener, is it because you are so caring or maybe because you are just amazing at entertaining them and make them forget about their problems. Just ask the ones close to you for a specific and detailed answer about what they love about you.

My friends love that I am easy to talk to because I’m naturally a very curious person. This characteristic allows me to bond with people easily.

4. How do you annoy others?

This one is a funny one but very valuable. If you define a talent as a strong characteristic, then you will often wind people up with it. Asking your friends and family what part of your personality drives them crazy makes it so easy to find your strong patterns.

For example, I drive my friends and family crazy by always wanting to strategically plan everything J

5. Learn from assessments

Assessments can be a great starting point to discover your true talents. One that I personally recommend is the Clifton StrengthsFinder. It gives you your top 5 most prominent talent patterns, which can help you start you talent-discovery journey.

Personality tests can do a good job finding the right words to describe your characteristics. However, just doing a simple test will have no impact on your life unless you use the results to dig deep and really get to know yourself better.

Finding and using your strong characteristics is key to success. It will also help you to find your perfect career match.

Have you found your true talents yet? What is blocking you from taping into them?