Shifting gears a little bit from what is going on in the marketplace to your own abilities give this a read and then write down your answers.
You self awareness of your own interests, strengths, and style may not be something you want to share with everyone, but it really pays off to help you make the right decisions when faced with choices.
The Talent Paradox
Are you good at something? Are you just naturally good, it comes easy, you have that great combination of equipping genes and an interest? If so, and we believe that everyone is talented in some area, then we think you will identify with our next thought. What happens when you meet your match? Do you quit? Do you sulk?
We have, and it is a long ride home from the pool, golf course, or school play tryout. That thing that is your thing, that underpinning of your ego suddenly has a crack in it and it shakes your confidence. Carol Dweck (book .
Looking at this a little further, we would like to hark back to the fable of the tortoise and the hare and to our own self talk when we come across a situation where you, a coworker, or a child is not great at something early, and what we can learn from building the foundation of performance block by block like the tortoise. Dr. Ken Robinson in his book )
We think this struggling across all facets, not just those things you do well, are wonderful opportunities to build your ability to hone a habit or a skill and that your self-talk at that very moment of failure can make all the difference. So look for the failure points, not just in your talent areas but in your weak areas as well, and realize that in everything performance comes from practice and a will to fail, learn, adapt and then proceed forward. We encourage you to go for it.
