Tuesday, July 1, 2008

What Are You Good At?

I recently read an article (can't remember where) that gave tips on how to start your own business and one of the steps was to make a list of things you are good at/talents you have. So I sat down and began to make my list. It was a very good exercise. I decided to ask my three daughters what they thought I was good at as well. Boy was that interesting. Good thing I can laugh at myself. According to their assessment, I could make millions washing dishes and doing laundry. Anyway, I decided to take this concept to the office. I asked every member of my staff to make a list of what they thought each person in the office was good at, including themselves. I then compiled the results.

I just completed staff reviews last week and one of the items I presented was the list of things they were good at, composed by their peers. When the list was presented to each one, a smile came across their face and I think their self esteem had a big boost that day.

The point is that it is human nature to want to be liked and admired by your friends, family and co-workers. Sometimes the stress and rapid pace we try to keep up with brings out the negative side of our personalities and we only see the faults in each other. When you focus on the positive attributes and talents that we each have, the flaws don't seem to carry as much weight.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Very interesting idea. I am having the entire family try this one out for size. I figure our attitudes about life and appreciation for it and each other starts at home. I’ll let you know how things went. Arizonian

Licking County Chamber said...

That's great! I look forward to hearing your results.

Unknown said...

The results are in- according to my children under the age of 12 I am very good at cleaning and cooking. My daughter did add that I was good at explaining things however. My son also said I was smart. Thing is, cleaning and cooking stuck with me for a few hours. Truthfully, it rather bothered me. Great I thought, Im a housekeeper and cook and that’s it in their eyes. That’s all they see. That cant be good I thought. Therefore, I discussed it with my husband. He said look, at least they didn’t say mom was good at burning the food and that they had to step over trash to get to the bathroom. Got to love those husbands! He went on to say, it’s not what they wrote it’s what they didn’t write. You have created a comfortable and safe home for your children and you should be proud that when your children go to sleep at night that THEY have no real worries and that when they wake they are still children. I felt better after that conversation I must say. We all get busy cleaning toilets and making grilled cheese sandwiches that we don’t always see the impact we have on others until later. My mother used to tell me a relationship is like a bank, you get back what you put in and sometimes with interest. Arizonian

Licking County Chamber said...

Well, my children said basically the same about me. Let me give you some of their remarks:
- Taking care of kids
- math
- doing homework
- resolving problems
- keeping schedules
- Laundry
- Cleaning
- Cooking
- Washing dishes
- Typing fast (my favorite)

It is always nice to know you're not alone!