Who am I? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Most haven’t, so you’re in good company. But a few have asked themselves that question. We call them successful people.
Successful people, at least from my research data, are fanatics when it comes to self-assessing exactly who they are. They have come to terms with their strengths and weaknesses. They are tuned in to what motivates them and what deflates them. They know what they like and what they don’t like. They figured out which types of people pump them up and which drag them down. Successful people know their potential and their limitations.
Knowing yourself acts like a GPS, steering you in the right direction and helping you avoid paths that will only get you lost in life. If you really are serious about succeeding in life, you have to figure out who you are. You need to ask yourself some fundamental questions:
- What am I good at?
- What am I bad at?
- What do I like doing?
- What do I hate doing?
- Who do I like and why?
- Who do I dislike and why?
- What comes easy to me?
- What comes hard to me?
- Do I have any hidden talents?
- Who inspires me and why?
- Who drags me down and why?
- Am I positive?
- Am I negative?
- What are my best attributes?
- What are my worst attributes?
- When am I most focused?
- When am I most distracted?
- What are my good habits?
- What are my bad habits?
- What do I procrastinate on?
- What am I fanatic about?
- What makes me happy?
- What makes me sad?
- What time of day am I the most energetic?
- What time of day am I the most sluggish?
You can see where I’m going. You want to make a list of as many questions as you possibly can and then answer them honestly. This helps paint a picture of who you truly are.
Now what? This little exercise enables you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Take a good hard look at your strengths. Write them down on one sheet of paper. Then devote the rest of your life to perfecting your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses.
We all have talents that we are born with. Think of them as your DNA Talents – talents that are hardwired into you from the moment of your conception. Innate talents are skills that come easy to you. Where others are forced to toil for 7, 8 or 9 long, hard years to get good a something, such as playing the piano, you’re somehow able to master the piano in just a few short, painless years. Well, that’s an innate talent. That’s life’s way of telling you – play the piano for a living. This Know Thyself exercise helps you find out what you should be focusing your efforts on and what you should be avoiding like the plague. If you focus all of your efforts on those things that you’re naturally good at in life, you’ll realize enormous success in life. Life rewards those who use their talents and their strengths.
About Thomas C. Corley
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