Focusing on building on your weaknesses is like trying to build a house on quicksand. No matter how hard you work, it will never stand.
I often hear people say that they need to spend time building up the areas that they are weak in. The problem is that this is not productive. It’s counterproductive. Focusing on building up our weaknesses often wastes time.
In all areas of life, we have strengths and weaknesses. We have God-given talents and we also have areas where there is little to no talent. By focusing on your weaknesses and building them, at best, you’ll only ever be mediocre in that area.
So what do you do? Focus on your strengths. By focusing on areas that you are already strong in, you will find the capacity to go from good to great to mastery in those areas. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone is a leader in some area. No one is good at everything.
Focus on those areas that you’re good at and you will find that you are building something great. Focus on those areas that you’re weak at and you will find difficulty gaining traction and momentum in life. Success comes with traction and momentum.
Look at any high-achiever or person who has become super wealthy. How do they do it? They take an area that they are good at and focus on it more and more with laser-like precision. The opposite is often true as well. When I coach people and businesses that are struggling or can’t figure out why they are not further ahead than they believe they should be, it is often because of a focus on weaknesses and attempting to build in those areas.
What’s the solution? It’s easy to say focus on your strengths and forget about your weaknesses, but, in reality, that can be difficult. Things need to be done that are often in your area of weakness. Get help. We were not designed to do life and business alone.
1. Start by listing out all the areas you are strong in and the areas you are weak in. What you will find is you will have a handful of both.
2. Once you have listed the areas, prioritize them by need. You will again find that there are areas of your strength that are more needed than others. You will also find that there are areas of weakness that are more important than others.
3. Seek out others who are strong in your area of weakness. In business, you should find employees, advisors or partners that complement your strengths. In your personal life, you will often find that your spouse or significant other has many areas of strength that you are weak in.
4. Let those who are strong lead. One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is trying to be in control of everything. Once you have determined where you have others in your life that are strong in your areas of weakness, let them take the reins in those areas. Seek their counsel and allow them to have some control in those areas.
When you follow these four steps, watch as traction and momentum build. You will find that many things will seem to start going better and become easier.
The last thing you will need to do is focus on building the areas you are strong in. Become super strong in those areas. Become an expert at them. You will increase your value many times over and will step closer to success in all areas of your life.