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Almost 4 months ago I shared a 4 question Wellbeing Test. This test can help you identify your sources of Sustenance, Success, Sacrifice and Strength that you need to live life purposefully. If you haven't tried this already, stop reading and click the linked text above.
The fourth question of this test asks you to identify your sources of strength and energy in your life. Like my previous posts exploring the first, second, and third questions, I will do my best to guide you to your best answers.
This post is the completion of the guide I shared with you last week. In that post I shared with you the idea of "sharpening your saw". I asked at the end of the post that you start doing that immediately.
This post will give you 3 more ideas for cultivating your sources of strength with a purpose.
The fourth question of this test asks you to identify your sources of strength and energy in your life. Like my previous posts exploring the first, second, and third questions, I will do my best to guide you to your best answers.
This post is the completion of the guide I shared with you last week. In that post I shared with you the idea of "sharpening your saw". I asked at the end of the post that you start doing that immediately.
This post will give you 3 more ideas for cultivating your sources of strength with a purpose.
A Quick Review
The first thing you need to do leverage your sources of strength is make it a weekly habit to engage in a little self-renewal in four aspects of health in your life: physical, social/emotional, mental/intellectual, and spiritual/purpose.
I discovered this a number of years ago when I first read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have built "selfish" activities into my weekly schedule to renew each of these areas since. When you don't do that, then it will be a lot easier to start feeling a little lost, a little unfocused, a little unmotivated, and little tired. I know all of those happen to me when I fail to keep this discipline.
This is step 1 to developing strength with a purpose. Now on to step 2.
Your Strengths = What Makes You Feel Strong
I was recently watching a recording of an interview with Danielle LaPorte where she shared some of her ideas for self-motivation. Referencing Marcus Buckingham (I'll talk more about him later), she pointed out that "Your strengths are things you do that make you feel strengthened. Your weaknesses are the things you do that make you feel deflated."
I cannot agree more.
Staying strong with a purpose means doing those things that help you feel strong. Let's figure out together how you can do just that. Here are 3 more ideas to keep you going.
The first thing you need to do leverage your sources of strength is make it a weekly habit to engage in a little self-renewal in four aspects of health in your life: physical, social/emotional, mental/intellectual, and spiritual/purpose.
I discovered this a number of years ago when I first read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have built "selfish" activities into my weekly schedule to renew each of these areas since. When you don't do that, then it will be a lot easier to start feeling a little lost, a little unfocused, a little unmotivated, and little tired. I know all of those happen to me when I fail to keep this discipline.
This is step 1 to developing strength with a purpose. Now on to step 2.
Your Strengths = What Makes You Feel Strong
I was recently watching a recording of an interview with Danielle LaPorte where she shared some of her ideas for self-motivation. Referencing Marcus Buckingham (I'll talk more about him later), she pointed out that "Your strengths are things you do that make you feel strengthened. Your weaknesses are the things you do that make you feel deflated."
I cannot agree more.
Staying strong with a purpose means doing those things that help you feel strong. Let's figure out together how you can do just that. Here are 3 more ideas to keep you going.
The Stronger/Weaker Ritual
This is a multiple step idea that grows directly out of the above observation. This involves taking stock of how you feel, identifying both actions and motivations, and then choosing your next actions.
Step 1: At the end of every week check in with yourself. How do you feel, stronger or weaker?
Step 2: What have you been up to this week? What actions did you take, what tasks did you complete, and what skills did you use? What were your motivations behind your actions took, tasks completed and skills used?
Step 3a: If you felt stronger, then try to figure out what contributed to that feeling. Do you think it was the actions you took, the tasks you got done, and/or the skills you used? Or, was it the underlying motivation behind those? Or both? Can you recreate what helped you feel strong in the next week? If yes, do it.
Step 3b: If you felt weaker, then things can be more complex. You certainly need to try to figure out what contributed to that feeling. Second, make sure your priorities are driving your processes and resources. If they are not, then get to work fixing that right away. You can do anything well as long as you are leading yourself with your priorities.
If you are pretty confident that you being led by your priorities, then you need to consider whether or not your actions are a form of purposeful sacrifice. If it is a purposeful sacrifice, then continue on with that sacrifice. Sacrifice is part of living purposefully. But, if you do this it becomes even more important that you keep the weekly discipline of sharpening your saw otherwise you will exhaust yourself prematurely.
All things being equal though, you should always act from your strengths.
Get To Know Your Natural Strengths
I discussed this idea a bit when we explored the second question of the Wellbeing Test.
You will find it a lot easier to cultivate your strengths when you know what your natural strengths are. One of the benefits of the Stronger/Weaker Ritual is that over a number of years you can get an excellence sense of what your natural strengths are. And, nothing replaces you taking action.
The good news is that you don't have to take years to make some progress. You can take advantage of some fairly recent advances in our understanding of human psychology, and engage a well designed self-assessment tool.
I recommend two tools closely associated with researcher and author Marcus Buckingham, StandOut and Strengths Finder 2.0. Both of these have really opened my eyes and changed my life. Even if you don't choose one of these tools, it is important that you find a tool that is well grounded in best science of the day and can give you insight on who you naturally are, and gets past temporary self-perceptions and circumstances.
You find more information on my recommendations by checking out the Motivate (Beta) Reading List or clicking the images at the top of this post.
Act From Your Natural Strengths
This idea is the natural progression from the previous and the ultimate goal of the first idea. Both of the previous ideas have you learning a lot about yourself and the kinds of motivations and actions that empower you.
Now that you have learned all of that, you need to do 2 things.
First, you need to start putting yourself into situations where you can leverage your strengths; the ones you develop but especially your natural strengths. No one is successful at doing this all of the time, or even most of the time. I also believe that a few unplanned challenges in your life is probably a good thing, and a lot more interesting. Still, the more you can put yourself in the right situations, then more you can live your purpose, and the more effective you can be at it.
Second, you need approach every situation in your life through your strengths. While you don't control your circumstances, you do control how you approach those situations. Think of your strengths as a set of lenses. Just like sunlight through a magnifying glass, leveraging everything you do through your strengths will make your results all that much brighter.
StandOut is particularly helpful when doing this since that tool identifies your strongest roles in life. For example, one of my top roles is that of "advisor" (this may not be a surprise) and thus some the greatest value I provide is pointed counsel, unwavering support and the trust those two together build. In that light, how I should go about solving many of the problems that show up in my life is obvious (counsel, support, trust). Of course, how you should approach those same problems may be radically different.
This also means that you may not be best person for a whole lot of situations. That's OK. You're good enough for anything, but you probably don't need to do everything.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
This is a multiple step idea that grows directly out of the above observation. This involves taking stock of how you feel, identifying both actions and motivations, and then choosing your next actions.
Step 1: At the end of every week check in with yourself. How do you feel, stronger or weaker?
Step 2: What have you been up to this week? What actions did you take, what tasks did you complete, and what skills did you use? What were your motivations behind your actions took, tasks completed and skills used?
Step 3a: If you felt stronger, then try to figure out what contributed to that feeling. Do you think it was the actions you took, the tasks you got done, and/or the skills you used? Or, was it the underlying motivation behind those? Or both? Can you recreate what helped you feel strong in the next week? If yes, do it.
Step 3b: If you felt weaker, then things can be more complex. You certainly need to try to figure out what contributed to that feeling. Second, make sure your priorities are driving your processes and resources. If they are not, then get to work fixing that right away. You can do anything well as long as you are leading yourself with your priorities.
If you are pretty confident that you being led by your priorities, then you need to consider whether or not your actions are a form of purposeful sacrifice. If it is a purposeful sacrifice, then continue on with that sacrifice. Sacrifice is part of living purposefully. But, if you do this it becomes even more important that you keep the weekly discipline of sharpening your saw otherwise you will exhaust yourself prematurely.
All things being equal though, you should always act from your strengths.
Get To Know Your Natural Strengths
I discussed this idea a bit when we explored the second question of the Wellbeing Test.
You will find it a lot easier to cultivate your strengths when you know what your natural strengths are. One of the benefits of the Stronger/Weaker Ritual is that over a number of years you can get an excellence sense of what your natural strengths are. And, nothing replaces you taking action.
The good news is that you don't have to take years to make some progress. You can take advantage of some fairly recent advances in our understanding of human psychology, and engage a well designed self-assessment tool.
I recommend two tools closely associated with researcher and author Marcus Buckingham, StandOut and Strengths Finder 2.0. Both of these have really opened my eyes and changed my life. Even if you don't choose one of these tools, it is important that you find a tool that is well grounded in best science of the day and can give you insight on who you naturally are, and gets past temporary self-perceptions and circumstances.
You find more information on my recommendations by checking out the Motivate (Beta) Reading List or clicking the images at the top of this post.
Act From Your Natural Strengths
This idea is the natural progression from the previous and the ultimate goal of the first idea. Both of the previous ideas have you learning a lot about yourself and the kinds of motivations and actions that empower you.
Now that you have learned all of that, you need to do 2 things.
First, you need to start putting yourself into situations where you can leverage your strengths; the ones you develop but especially your natural strengths. No one is successful at doing this all of the time, or even most of the time. I also believe that a few unplanned challenges in your life is probably a good thing, and a lot more interesting. Still, the more you can put yourself in the right situations, then more you can live your purpose, and the more effective you can be at it.
Second, you need approach every situation in your life through your strengths. While you don't control your circumstances, you do control how you approach those situations. Think of your strengths as a set of lenses. Just like sunlight through a magnifying glass, leveraging everything you do through your strengths will make your results all that much brighter.
StandOut is particularly helpful when doing this since that tool identifies your strongest roles in life. For example, one of my top roles is that of "advisor" (this may not be a surprise) and thus some the greatest value I provide is pointed counsel, unwavering support and the trust those two together build. In that light, how I should go about solving many of the problems that show up in my life is obvious (counsel, support, trust). Of course, how you should approach those same problems may be radically different.
This also means that you may not be best person for a whole lot of situations. That's OK. You're good enough for anything, but you probably don't need to do everything.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
[Images: Amazon.Com, MightyPurpose.Me]