Don’t Waste Time on Your Weaknesses

I just saw a quote on Facebook that said

Life is like a camera…

Focus on what’s important,

Capture the good times,

Develop from the negatives

And if things don’t work out,

Take another shot.

I think that is a great list of things to do.  However, what this list brought to my mind was another saying that I’ve come across over the years which encourages people to ‘develop their weaknesses’.  When it comes to personal and professional development, you usually hear people saying ‘you much work to develop those areas you are weakest at.

And for many years I have agreed with the idea that we should do as much as we can to develop our weakest skills.  That was until I started my own business and spent many years trying to improve my skills in areas where I am absolutely rubbish at.

I started out in retail and then administration, but my admin skills are now my weakest skill and I think this is because I am focused on different things and have far less patience in that area than I use to have.  I probably have little interest in admin now too.

Now looking back on what I can only call wasted time, energy and money.  I wish I had seen things differently, but sometimes you can’t because you’re not ready.  Or you just need to go through things and learn from your experience.

Now I tell my clients, not to waste their time and energy and ultimately, their money, on trying to train themselves to do things they hate and are similarly rubbish at doing.

Life here on this plain is short, so why spend much of your time grilling yourself into a shape you clearly are not and were not ever meant to be.  Now I would say focus on what you’re good at.  This is a much better use of your time and energy and what you are most capably at making money from.  You will feel much happier, more fulfilled and closer to achieving your life and business goals.

There are many other people who are good and probably excellent and doing those things that you hate, struggle to do and take half a day to get half way through.  Whilst for these others, it would take them half an hour or less.  And if it’s a task that they enjoy, it will probably make thems happy to do.  Pass it on to them.

Find other people who you can pay, barter with or trade skills with to do those things that you are not so good at doing, but must be done for your business or any other area of your life for that matter.

For me doing any kind of administration would be one of the areas that takes me ages to do.  And in terms of where my time would be best spent: in relation to value for money and where I would find personal enjoyment, fulfillment and satisfaction… doing admin would not be it.

As a very good friend of my told me many years ago

Major on your strengths.

This does not mean we will not learn new skills or try new activities it just means that we focus on and make best use of our time in doing what we are good at, the majority of the time.