5 Clues to Your Natural Hidden Talents

Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do?

Why do some things come naturally to you and others don’t?

 

I have been there. There are many things that I enjoy and that come naturally to me. When I was a child, one of the things that came naturally to me was competitive sports. Before you start thinking I was an all-star athlete, let me clarify: I thoroughly enjoy competing, but not in any sport involving a ball coming towards me. I attempted to play softball and would duck when the ball came toward me! So, although I thoroughly enjoy competing, I was not apt for a ball to come towards me with any force. I was a competitive swimmer, and I loved it. I enjoyed the early morning 5 am practices, afternoon practices, and competitions on the weekends. The yearning and desire to compete was what motivated me. What drove me was the time on the clock, the competition between myself, the pool & the clock on the wall. The drive to compete and to be excellent in everything I do is a strong motivator that continues to drive me in all areas of my life. Swimming is a physical talent, but it is still a clue to my talents that I can learn to productively apply to achieve my goals in my work, relationships, and community.

From a young age, I also yearned to accomplish tasks. I immensely enjoyed having a mountain of schoolwork or chores to do and ticking them off my list. Even now, I strongly desire to accomplish tasks and tick them off my list. I just thoroughly enjoy getting things done! I am that person on the weekend who rests by doing all my laundry, cleaning the house, reading a good book, and anything else I can achieve. The achievement satisfies me. Have you ever experienced that? The feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment in doing something that comes so naturally to you that you don’t even have to think about it?

These are all clues to your natural talents! According to Gallup, your natural talents are your natural way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. When you discover your natural talents and take the time to invest in them intentionally, you can transform them into strengths that you can productively apply in your everyday life.

So, how does my natural talent for swimming and accomplishing tasks affect my career and life? Well, my natural talent for swimming and accomplishing tasks points to my CliftonStrengths of achiever, responsibility, and competition. The CliftonStrengths assessment was the tool that enabled me to discover my natural talents, to put actual words, definitions, and meaning to who I am and why I do the things that I do. Unlocking my CliftonStrengths identified my natural talents and gave me a platform to transform my talents into strength.

Gallup defines strength as the ability to provide near-perfect performance consistently. Imagine knowing your natural talents and how to transform them into strengths that work for you rather than against you. Once I discovered my natural talents, I have been able to harness them to succeed in various aspects of my life. While I was studying for my Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), I was able to harness my achiever, responsibility, strategic, and discipline talents to succeed in my MBA (although just barely in the accounting courses! ;)).

There are a lot of personality tests out there that are very helpful in adding color to who you are as a person. This discussion won’t explore the differences between CliftonStrengths, Enneagram, or other assessments. Still, I will share a few key points as to what makes the Clifton Strengths assessment so uniquely powerful and sets it apart from other assessments:

1. A FOCUS ON WHATS RIGHT: The CliftonStrengths assessment focuses on what’s right with people rather than what’s wrong with them.
2. A STRONG FOUNDATION: The CliftonStrengths assessment was built upon more than four decades of studying success within many fields (from business to education) and various cultures (nearly 50 countries)
3. UNIQUE TO YOU: The Father of Strengths Psychology, Don Clifton, created the StrengthsFinder assessment to identify your natural talents, and it moves beyond a general personality description. Your CliftonStrengths report provides unique personality descriptions and personal insights to help you be the best at work, school, relationships, and community.

Being your best self starts with uncovering your natural talents. There are five key clues to your natural talents that you can discover today. Download our FREE ‘5 keys to your hidden natural talents’ worksheet to help you identify your natural talents and start flourishing today!