In my book Life Palette I talk about how important it is for you to build and develop your strengths and to protect against being blindsided by your weaknesses. As much as God has created us with strengths to be His masterpiece, we all have weaknesses.
Here are some guidelines to help you develop your strengths and protect against being blindsided by your weaknesses and ultimately to live as the masterpiece God created you to be – to fulfill your potential:
- Make Daily Discipline A Priority
It is important that you discipline yourself to spend time with God through prayer and reading of His Word, the Bible. Making this a priority will guarantee that you are developing your strengths and it’s the best way to protect against being blindsided in your weaknesses.
- Pay Attention
No one purposefully gets their priorities out of order. Instead, we just quit giving them the attention they need and they drift out of position. Because you are God’s created masterpiece, we need to keep our time with Him a priority throughout all of our lives. Then you will have different priorities according to the areas of your life. In every area of your life you will have priorities. For instance as a leader I have a set of priorities for the organization I lead. As an artist I have a very different set of priorities. As a dad and husband my family is second only to my relationship with God, I know the more I keep God first the better dad and husband I am. You will only be able to realize your full potential as a masterpiece and develop your strengths by paying close attention to your priorities.
- Don’t Be A Lone Ranger
Even the Lone Ranger had someone he was accountable to, his sidekick Tonto. You cannot live your life in isolation without accountability and realize your full potential as the masterpiece God created you to be. Others who know and love you recognize your strengths; they also know your weaknesses. (Even if you haven’t talked about them, they know them…) They will help you develop your strengths and protect against your weaknesses.
As a leader I personally have always hired people who have strengths where I am weak. I don’t need another me on my team. And that is true in every area of your life. Your strength plus their strength will build a greater strength. And when others who are a part of your life are strong where you are weak and vice versa, you will guard each other against being blindsided by weaknesses.
Next Steps:
How are you currently developing your strengths? Which one of the 3 guidelines above do you need to act on before the others? Who are you doing life together with that helps you guard against being blindsided by your weaknesses?
Question:
Do you think it’s better to focus on developing your strengths or to try and turn weaknesses into strengths? Comment and let me know what your thoughts are.