We all want our lives to mean something. We want our contributions to matter. We want to know that we are valued.

In 2021, The Beautiful Work Lives group conducted a survey on global professional values, and Meaning and Purpose ranked among the seven most important. Yet, unfortunately, not all of us experience as much meaning and purpose as we would like in and through our work. Getting to a point where we are confident in our work’s significance and our individual contributions requires a journey full of ups and downs. But there is a way to get there more directly: focus on your strengths.

Focusing on your strengths starts with identifying what you do well. My favorite tool to uncover the patterns is the CliftonStrengths assessment administered through Gallup. Donald Clifton’s research identified 34 themes, and the assessment looks at your naturally occurring thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to identify your unique combination of talents. Even if you’ve never taken it, there are five clues to talent according to Gallup:

1. Yearning – you want to do more of it

2. Rapid Learning – you master new ways of thinking or doing more quickly in these areas

3. Flow – you find yourself in the zone, not realizing how much time has passed

4. Glimpses of Excellence – you surprise yourself with how well you do something or others are impressed with your performance

5. Satisfaction – you both enjoy doing a task or approaching it in a certain way, and you feel accomplished after

It’s important to understand the positive themes in our lives because they present our greatest opportunities for success. These areas, because they are where we experience the most rapid learning, are where we can see the greatest improvements with the least effort. So, take a moment to think about where you see these patterns emerging in your life.

Once you have identified your most natural abilities, the next step is to own your talents. Sometimes we don’t realize just how much value we are adding when we are using our talents because it comes naturally. We think that everyone has the same capabilities. But it simply isn’t true. No one thinks exactly the way you do or accomplishes things in exactly the same way. The things you are best at may very well be a serious struggle for your sphere of influence. These differences are strengths.

Once you know where you are best, you can practice applying your talents to improve your performance and relationships. Maybe you’re at your best when …

• You have time and space to look at the big picture, to understand the history of a project, to dive deep into learning about a topic before you tackle a task.

• You create a to do list and power through it or you have a set way of accomplishing things

• You have a group of people to bounce ideas off of or compete against.

• You are focused on creating meaningful relationships.

Build in the things that help you be at your best. It may feel selfish or wrong at first because we’ve been trained to do things in a specific way, whether or not it’s the best way for us. But choosing to do things in a way that highlights and fully uses your strengths will help you produce better results in the long run so that your true potential can SHINE and you can discover your Meaning and Purpose.

Want to better understand your strengths and uncover your meaning and purpose?