How to identify your strengths

A great way to get a better understanding of ‘you’, is to identify your strengths. What makes you tick? What brings you joy? Being aware of your strengths shifts your mindset so you can view yourself in a positive light. This is a great way to kickstart your self-development and can also lead to giving you a clear idea of what career may work best for you. 

We’ve put together some tips to get you started. 

Ask people you trust and respect what they think your strengths are. This can be friends, family and colleagues. Make a list of what their answers are; do you see a pattern? If there are some strengths that keep coming up, you can be confident this is an area you excel at. 

After speaking with other people about your strengths, check-in with the responses. Do you agree? Are you surprised? How do you feel when you’re in situations where those strengths are used.  

Over a week or two, write down five activities you have done that you’ve enjoyed. These can be in your personal life or your professional life. Reflect on this list keeping in mind the list of strengths you have received from peers. Again, can you find a pattern? Are you using these strengths in these activities?