Personal Skills

Written by Anne Walter

Throughout most of our lives growing up, we learn about who we are and our individual talents, which make up our “personal skill set.”  Hopefully, these strengths are woven into a “roadmap” of what we enjoy doing, how we can help others and ideally, find a career that highlights them. 

Generally speaking, did you know we spend more time with our coworkers than we do with family and friends?!  So how much more significant is your chosen career and what you do every day?  A great deal if you read the research behind this important concept.  What we do is directly linked to our personal happiness.  There’s a known expression, “I don’t have a job, I get to do what I love every day”…and shouldn’t that be our ultimate goal? 

We can move closer to this ideal by incorporating our talents and skills in the areas where we excel, which results in increased personal happiness.  Most people thrive where they are proficient.  Ask yourself, “how closely aligned is my skill set and what I do every day?” 

It might sound complicated and can be overwhelming but try to take a step back and process it.  Answering these questions might take some time but these areas of our lives evolve and change just as we do.  As you move forward, assess the following…what are my dominant skills?…where do I excel?...what do I enjoy doing?…how much of those impact my purpose?  You will then have an initial baseline of information to review how closely aligned is your “skill set” to where you are and where you need to be.

No matter what we choose to do every day or how much we actively use our individual skills, there needs to be a mesh that incorporates all areas of who we are to fully appreciate and utilize our personal skill set.