According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, “Genes do not determine your destiny. They determine your areas of opportunity.” We all possess personality traits we were born with, natural areas of strength and weakness.
These natural abilities don’t lock us into a defined future but are areas we can consciously build on. “The key is to direct your effort toward areas that both excite you and match your natural skills, to align your ambition with your ability.” Atomic Habits.
We’re Not Born As Blank Slates
I grew up understanding that all humans were born with a “tabula rasa,” a blank slate, and that all personality traits resulted from culture and experiences.
The experience of my wife and I with our four children quickly dispelled this belief. From the beginning, each child was distinctly different from the others, and each had distinguishable traits.
The scientific community generally accepts that humans are hard-wired at birth with certain instincts and personality traits.
We Like to Believe “We Can Do Anything or Be Anything We Want”
We like to believe we can do anything or be anything we want. But unfortunately, that’s not true—and we know it.
No matter my desire or determination, I can’t be an NFL quarterback or an Olympic gymnast. Even in my 20s, I didn’t have the right body for either one of those sports. The best quarterback would likely be unable to be an Olympic gymnast, and vice versa. They each require very different skills and body types. No one can do everything.
My body is built to be a sprinter, but not a long-distance runner. Hence, I was good at soccer (and could play an entire game constantly sprinting), but long-distance running was pure misery for me. I was a pretty good soccer player but wouldn’t have succeeded as a marathon runner.
Yet when my kids were growing up, educators constantly told them they could do or be anything they wanted to. I’m guessing these expectations were a byproduct of the “high self-esteem” movement of the 1980s. Parents and educators told kids, “You can do or be anything you want,” to have them feel positive about themselves.
Of course, building self-esteem on a false premise causes multiple problems later. It results in unrealistic expectations and feelings of entitlement to succeed at everything one does.
We All Have Natural Strengths and Weaknesses
We are born with certain traits and areas of opportunity, things that we’re naturally good at. As I was growing up, I realized I had specific areas of strength with corresponding areas of weakness. Taking several personality profiles helped me understand that more clearly.
As James Clear says, “Bundled together, your unique cluster of genetic traits predispose you to a particular personality. Your personality is the set of characteristics that is consistent from situation to situation.” Atomic Habits.
Build on Your Strengths
With this understanding, we need to focus and build on our areas of strength. We don’t want to waste time and effort focusing on things we’ll never excel at. Instead, we want to intentionally build on our strengths.
Personality Profiles Can Help You to Understand Your Areas of Opportunity
Personality profiles helped me understand my areas of opportunity. The one that I found the most helpful is the DISC personality profile. While the Myers-Briggs Inventory can be beneficial, I found the DISC inventory much more practical. It helped me understand my innate skills, strengths, and weaknesses. I know what I’m good at and what I’m not good at.
The other assessment that helped me to understand myself better was the Motivation Code evaluation. It gave me important insights into the type of work I find motivating and fulfilling.
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is not enough. You also need to understand how best to apply them to real work. That’s where the Motivation Code helped me.
Four Questions To Help You Understand Your Areas of Strength
James Clear suggests that we ask ourselves four questions to narrow the areas that we’re best suited for:
• What feels like fun to me but work to others? We all have areas where we enjoy working but others hate. That niche that you find fun is likely an area of strength.
• What makes me lose track of time? If you find it easy to “get in the flow” with a particular kind of work, that indicates that this is a significant strength for you.
• Where do I get greater returns than the average person?
• What comes naturally to me? Have you had a job where every day is a struggle? Have you had a job where the work seems natural and easy? Being natural and easy is a sign that it’s a good fit for your strengths.
My Legal Career: An Example of Building on Your Strengths
Knowing what you’re good at and what type of work motivates you can help you decide what career best fits you. This approach guided me to becoming an attorney.
When I took personality profiles, they typically suggested career fields that fit my strengths. An attorney was always among the top suggestions. I didn’t start out wanting to become a lawyer, but I became a lawyer because I saw that my strengths were the same strengths needed to be a good lawyer.
I discovered that I like to learn new things, research new topics, solve problems, analyze and organize my thoughts, and then find ways to communicate them to others simply and interestingly. I find researching and teaching motivating and fulfilling, and I feel productive when I complete these projects.
Realizing this, when I needed to make a career change in my 40s, I listened to what my personality profiles were saying and went to Law School. As a result, I found the most fulfilling job I’d ever had. As an Air Force Reserve JAG (a lawyer in the AF), I was constantly researching, analyzing, and organizing my thoughts to present to others in oral and written form. I loved it — it energized me and was highly fulfilling.
Before my law career, I’d been a minister for local churches and a Chaplain in the Air Force. While religious teaching used some of my research, analytical, and teaching skills, most of my work involved interpersonal skills. My most robust skill sets were not a good match for the job. As an introvert, I expended vast amounts of energy in social interaction.
The JAG job fit my strengths. I didn’t try to change my essential self to fit the job. The job fit me. It became one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had.
How to Maximize Your Strengths.
• Define your strengths and corresponding weaknesses. Use personality assessments to uncover what you’re good at. Ask friends how they perceive your areas of strength — what do they think you’re good at?
• Find ways to build more skills in your areas of strength. If you have a job, volunteer for projects that fit your strength profile. Take an online class that improves a skill you have.
If your present job isn’t a good fit for you, spend some of your off-time improving your skills. Do creative work on the side that uses and expands your strengths. Invest in your strengths and skills for future use.
• Choose a career area based on your strengths. Personality assessments often suggest careers that fit your personality profile. Ask friends what careers fit your strengths.
You might discover a career field that fits you that you didn’t even know existed. I know several lawyers who subsequently became Human Resource directors, where detailed work, analytical skills, legal interpretive skills, and communication skills are valued.
• Inform your boss of your strengths and weaknesses and how you can best be productive for them. Maximize your chances for success by letting others know what you’re good at. Your boss might not know what you’re most productive doing.
Occasionally, we all have to work in areas of weakness, but that’s not where we want to major. We need to compensate for areas of weakness as best we can but not make that our focus.
Once, during a job interview, I stated what I was good at and what I wasn’t. They knew what to expect from me. If my strengths didn’t fit the job they were looking to fill, it would be best for them and for me not to hire me.
Understand and Build on Your Strengths
Understanding and building on our natural areas of strength is key to finding fulfillment and success in our careers. By taking the time to identify our strengths through personality assessments and self-reflection, we can align our ambitions with our abilities and pursue work that energizes and motivates us.
“Once we realize our strengths, we know where to spend our time and energy. We know which types of opportunities to look for and which types of challenges to avoid.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits.
Take the time to invest in your strengths, communicate them to others, and focus on opportunities that allow you to thrive. So, embrace your strengths, build on them, and watch as you unlock your full potential.