Career Success: Know Thyself

Once you become aware of what you are capable of achieving, you won’t settle for mediocrity. - Lao Tzu

This post proposes three steps to increase your self awareness. In addition to understanding what makes you tick, you will deposit your talent in the right place. Unwrap the package.

3 Steps

• Identify your strengths.

And God blessed them, (Genesis 1:28). Blessed means to be empowered. What are you empowered to do? To answer this question, you must identify your strengths.

Joseph's strength, for example, was interpreting dreams. Because of this gift, Joseph became the second most powerful person in Egypt (Genesis 41:37-43). In essence, he went from the pit to the palace.

Your three dominant skills can carry you to the hot spots. They derive from things you enjoy doing as well as from things you do with ease. Consequently, you might take them for granted. I used to think that seeing the big picture was something anyone could do.

Do not overlook personal characteristics. These traits augment the talent. Ask co-workers, family members, or friends what words best describe you. Note the patterns.

• Pinpoint your passion.

The thing that captures your heart is one indicator. Jesus' passion was the cross. Mark 10:45 states, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus was a seed - God gave his Son to get a family. Jesus endured the shame of the cross, bodily harm, excruciating pain, abandonment, the grave, and hell to complete his assignment.

Paul's passion was spreading the gospel (But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred now with flesh and blood - Galatians 1:15-16).

Paul was stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned - yet he was honored to suffer and die for the gospel. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 reads, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Another indicator is what makes you angry; anger can be productive when channeled the right way. The Bible says, "Be angry and sin not", (Ephesians 4:26).

Candace Lightner's frustration with seeing children killed by drunk drivers compelled her to start Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). The acronym speaks volumes.

After hearing about the suffering of his people, Nehemiah was motivated to request a leave of absence. "And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchers, that I may build it (verse 2:5). What is more, the king honored Nehemiah's request. "So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time (verse 2:6). Instead of ignoring the situation, Nehemiah left the palace to rebuild the wall.

• Explore your values.

Malcolm X said, "A man must stand for something, or he will fall for anything." Exploring your values is significant to leading a successful career and life. How can you excel at a company that supports everything you are against? Likewise, how can you marry a person who disrespects everything stand for? A career similar to a relationship will have a rocky road when the people are unequally yoked.

Write to Stephanie Harbin at sdharbin@yahoo.com.

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