Using Your Strengths in a Radically Different World
- By Assistant Director of StrongPoints ® Beth Hwang
- Published
According to Gallup, wellbeing comprises five areas: Purpose/career, social, financial, physical, and community. When our wellbeing suffers, we are less engaged in our lives. Applying our strengths is one way of improving our wellbeing.
A few months into the pandemic I noticed a decrease in my social wellbeing. Upon reflection, it appeared opportunities to use my strength of Woo seemed non-existent. Clearly, my love for getting to know people and making new connections required a new approach. Through conversations with students, faculty, and staff I discovered I was not alone in feeling as if I no longer understood my strengths. What I discovered was I knew my strengths as they were in the world before COVID, and now I must begin to reframe my strengths in the context of the life I am living now. If you are feeling the same, here are some strategies to begin reframing your strengths.
You might struggle to start reframing your strengths because you’re burned out. This is the biggest obstacle to engagement and motivation. Gallup’s research reveals those who have someone in their life who encourages their development are less likely to be burned out. Ask yourself, who is investing in me? If you can’t identify someone, maybe that should be your SMART goal: to find someone who encourages you to develop as a person, student, employee, etc.
The CliftonStrengths assessment provides you with the language to identify your natural talents, which are a tool to support your wellbeing. However, a word of caution: don’t rush through the difficult emotions. Understand where they are coming from and then apply your strengths to the situation. It won’t always be easy, but be patient and give yourself some grace.
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