Ella Fitzgerald sang it best…Summertime and the living is easy…
Welcome to JUNE, Thought Partners!
Summer Fridays (if you’re in the Northeast or Midwest), Endless Summers (if you’re on the West Coast), and that oh, so refreshing feeling as if you’re standing on the surface of the sun (if you’re here with me in the South).
For many, the advent of summer brings an increased focus on getting in shape, becoming beach ready, and preparing ourselves to spend more time in the active outdoors.
To that end, this month we’re focusing on building our strength and fitness – as leaders, as contributors, and as individuals who want to live our best lives; we only have ONE, after all. (I promise not to make you sweat too much.)
Have you ever thought about the difference between having a STRENGTH and being STRONG?
My guess is you probably haven’t. And I hadn’t either, until, well, I did.
A strength is something you’re good at, something that comes easily or naturally to you, and something that requires little effort on your part to produce. Here’s the deal on strengths – just because you are good at something, doesn’t mean you enjoy doing it.
Being strong and feeling strong, on the other hand, lives at the intersection of doing what you love doing AND doing what you’re good at doing.
For example, I’m good at organizing work flow and assessing efficiencies, but the thought of popping out of bed in the morning to face a full day of efficiency analysis doesn’t light my world on fire. (Imagine that!) I did it; I could continue to do it, it’s a strength I possess, but I don’t love it.
However, I feel STRONG when I coach clients and help them assess their teams, their management (in)efficiencies, and co-create pathways they implement that improve their businesses and increase their leadership reach.
Coaching makes me feel strong because I LOVE doing it and I feel GREAT doing it too.
As we focus on building on our strengths and becoming our strongest selves this month, ask yourself the following:
- What is it that makes me feel strong?
- Am I doing these things with enough frequency so I achieve the outcomes and results I want in this ONE life?
- Am I spending more of my time doing things I’m good at, simply because I’m good at them or because they make me feel strong and impactful?
- How can I partner more of what I’m good at with more of what I love?
We all have strengths.
But it’s doing what makes us strong that sustains us and gives us purpose for the long haul.