2023 was a year of immense change for me. As a parent of both a toddler and an infant, I faced the challenge of balancing my new responsibilities while pursuing my own venture, Dries Coaching and Consulting. Despite the uncertainties, I discovered the power of leaning into my strengths during times of transformation. Looking back, I want to share the lessons I learned through the lens of my top 5 talents: Achiever, Positivity, Learner, Developer, and Empathy. Each of these strengths played a vital role in navigating the ups and downs of this past year.
Achiever
“You need to prove yourself to yourself each day.”
I do not get many pockets of time for just me – so I find that multitasking is my best friend. When I am rocking my son, I am reading on my Kindle. When my daughter wakes me up in the middle of the night to be held and put back to bed, I will take my phone and write thoughts down or send emails while offering comfort. When the kids go to bed for the night, I turn to my laptop, to try to see what I can accomplish. As a mom, I think about how I can help my children to set goals for themselves that we can work on each day.
Each day is a new day to keep working hard towards my goals, and to keep proving that I can be a bit better than the day before. When we talk about people who have Achiever, we talk about people who have an “internal fire” that will not go out. This strength has helped me create lists and lists of things that I want to work on to make my business thrive, and I am taking the steps to get there. I need to be mindful though because this strength can also prevent me from celebrating what I’ve accomplished thus far because I am so focused on the things that still need to get done for the future.
As I reflect on my Achiever strengths this year, I am celebrating all that I have accomplished, even if I am also looking ahead to what 2024 will bring. My Achiever strength propelled me forward, pushing me to set ambitious goals and achieve them. It gave me the drive and determination to persevere, even when faced with obstacles.
I am grateful for this strength for helping me persevere and always keep looking ahead to knock more things off my “to accomplish” list.
Positivity:
“Instinctively, you view life as exciting and full of opportunities.”
Out of concern for me, several individuals questioned my decision to leave the comfort of higher education and a steady 8am-5pm job. I would be lying if I said I didn’t let their concern seep in.
However, possessing this strength of positivity helped me focus on the positives of this decision.
Positivity became my guiding light, allowing me to maintain a hopeful and optimistic mindset.
Instead of viewing and focusing on the “what if’s” of the worst case scenario, I could instead focus on the silver lining of what I could accomplish if I was in charge of where I put my energy. I wanted to make a larger impact, and I wanted to also have a greater presence in my children’s life. I am doing both in a way that feels right for me, and I see so much opportunity in what I’m doing now that I didn’t have before.
I am grateful for this strength to help me through this season and year of change and discomfort.
Empathy
“It’s very likely that you might bring an emotional awareness to certain kinds of conversations. Sometimes you can ease the stress of individuals if they are about to make an important decision. Perhaps you can calm those who are struggling with the uncertainty of change.”
My Empathy strength has played a crucial role in understanding and connecting with others. While leading several team trainings this year, I have been able to feel and sense the emotions of others and to help ease those feelings. I have worked with a handful of leaders and teams who were struggling with big decisions for their organizations, and leaning on this strength helped me support them through challenging times.
This strength also helped me as I navigated my own emotions in making a big life decision to do my own thing and spend more time with my children. Anyone with young children also knows that emotions are high, and through better understanding my own emotions, I’ve been able to help my toddlers understand their own.
I am grateful for this strength for allowing me to deepen my own emotional awareness while also raising children who will have strong emotional awareness and care and concern for others.
Learner
“Like a miner searches for gold day after day, you continually collect new bits of knowledge.”
This year, the Learner in me thrived, as I embraced new challenges and sought out opportunities for growth. I approached each experience as a chance to expand my knowledge and develop new skills.
I am closing in on reading 125 books for the year –the most I’ve ever read, and it’s true that my appetite for learning is never satisfied. I consistently read to fuel my business, to improve my parenting, and for pure enjoyment. I love learning, and reading this year has been a form of growth, entertainment, self-love, and wisdom.
I am grateful for this strength for helping me deepen my self-love and providing me opportunities for reflection.
Developer
“People probably say you devote yourself to the welfare and interests of many individuals.”
This strength has been one I have leaned on a great deal this year. When I think about why I love what I do with Dr. Dries Coaching and Consulting my developer talent is top of mind. I love helping people figure out and uncover what they do best, and then find ways to do that every day. Helping bring out other’s best brings out my best, so it’s a win/win for me.
This year, this strength allowed me to nurture both myself and others. I invested time and energy into personal and professional development, while also supporting and empowering those around me.
I am grateful for this talent for allowing me to thrive when helping others.
2023 brought significant change in my life. Through the lean of my top 5 talents,I have learned the importance of embracing our strengths during times of transformation. My top 5 talents have guided me through this journey, empowering me to overcome challenges and thrive in the face of change. Thank you CliftonStrengths® for giving me a language and tool to use to understand myself and the clients I work with daily.
As we all enter a new year, I encourage you to reflect on your own top 5 talents, and think about how you have leaned on them this year to navigate the changes in your own personal and professional life. How might you lean on them more as we enter into 2024?
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