Life Expert

Kimberly Fulcher

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Unleash Your Passion By
Identifying Your Strengths!

How long has it been since you took on the day with unbridled enthusiasm? Can you recall the last time you experienced intense excitement or pure joy? Are you a passionate person? If so, what are you passionate about? If not, are you ready to heat things up?

We all want to feel passion—that intensely charged arousal that makes our heart beat faster and causes us to lose track of time. In fact, one of the first things many of my coaching clients want to accomplish is to reconnect with their passion and purpose.

This powerful feeling is caused by your heart’s recognition that you are in the midst of something native to your authentic self. In essence, your passion is ignited when you reconnect with what you were made to do and who you were made to be. The intense joy associated with living passionately is a direct result of living authentically.

Authentic living is established when you reconnect with feelings of attraction, interest, infatuation, anticipation, and enthusiasm. That’s just what I want to help you do this month. We’ll get started by taking a look at your strengths.

What qualities do you respect and admire in yourself? What characteristics do others acknowledge you for? What are you naturally good at? Your strengths are the natural abilities or aptitudes that are unique to you. They are generally expressed in terms of describing your personality or capability. For example, you’re smart, you’re witty, you’re a great athlete, or you’re artistic.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in the area of personal development is placing their focus on their weaknesses. For some reason, many people have bought into the notion that most of their energy should be directed at shoring up inadequacies in their talent, knowledge, or skill base. What these people don’t realize is that when you invest in developing your natural gifts, the simple power of those attributes eclipses your weaknesses.

I’m not suggesting that you avoid acknowledging your personal shortcomings or shy away from learning new skills or information. I am reminding you that no one is good at everything, yet everyone is good at something! The first step in awakening and unleashing your passion involves committing your focus to the naming and claiming of your strengths.

These abilities are actually hardwired in your brain. Quite literally, you are born to be good at specific things, and we are each born with a unique presence and combination of specific attributes. Rather than attempting to reverse your biology, why not invest in maximizing the gifts you’ve been given?

Have you ever had a job interview where the interviewer asked you to describe your best qualities? That’s exactly how we’ll begin to identify your strengths. Right now, write down your ten greatest strengths. You can identify these qualities on your own, or ask two or three people close to you to tell you what they believe your strengths are. (Make sure you only ask positive, supportive people for this kind of help!) Now is not the time to be modest. It is time to toot your own horn. Have fun with this exercise! What are your greatest strengths? Write them down, take a moment to recognize these gifts in yourself, and commit the month to putting your natural aptitudes into action.

Until Next Month…

Kim

Lifestyle Expert, Kim Fulcher, has been dubbed America’s Reinvention Coach. She is the founder, president and CEO of Compass Life and Business Designs, a professional coaching, training, and publishing company. Her work as an entrepreneur, company leader, author, speaker, and professional coach has resulted in her national recognition as an expert in personal and professional success.

Kim works with her clients to revitalize and balance their busy lives, deepen their family connections, and establish passion and purpose in their lives and work. She speaks to organizations throughout The United States on subjects ranging from leadership to life balance. She is the author of the upcoming book “Remodel Your Reality; Seven Steps to Rebalance Your Life and Reclaim Your Passion” and co-author of “Lead With Purpose. Live With Passion. A Femalepreneur’s Guide to Small Business Success”.

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Column Updated: 01/01/07