The skill you choose to develop in 2022 should be less about an activity that you think will advance your career or promote your business. Instead, it should be a skill that is anchored in your true self, in who you are at a soul level. 

Why?

You are most successful when you are operating out of your natural talents. A lot of times we skip right over what our natural talents are and go straight to something we read in a book or heard in the media. We look to external sources telling us we need to do X and Y in order to accomplish Z.

But your natural talents and strengths are where your greatest potential lives. 

An analysis from Gallup revealed that people who use their top strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged at work. Engagement leads to confidence and achieving your goals. 

That’s why I have students in my Career Free Agent course complete the Clifton Strengths assessment—so they understand where their natural talents are and can lead from those strengths. Dump the things you aren’t naturally strong at. That is not your ministry. 

First, pinpoint what you do best. Spend time studying your successes to better understand your talents. Look at the things you’ve been naturally successful at without a lot of striving or struggle. Even though it might look like your past successes aren’t obviously relevant to what you’re trying to do today, the talents that enabled those accomplishments are. 

If you’re trying to transfer skills to a new field, what made you successful in the past? Your natural talents always transfer across jobs and industries. 

 What are some clues to your natural talents?

Yearning

What kinds of activities are you naturally drawn to? What energizes you? (And conversely, what drains you?)

Rapid learning

What activities do you pick up quickly? Don’t dismiss the things that come easily to you—those are your most natural talents! 

Flow

What activities do you seem to automatically know the steps for? What are the things you know how to do intuitively?

Glimpses of excellence

During what activities have you had subconscious glimpses of excellence? When have you surprised yourself by how good you were at something?

Satisfaction

What activities give you a kick—either while you’re doing them or immediately afterward? What makes you say, “When can I do that again?”

Sit in your soul and think about which aspects of yourself fit into those categories. The key to walking in your brilliance is understanding your soul’s desire, aligning that to your skills and natural talents, and finding (or creating) spaces where you can express your natural talents and abilities. That’s how you show up in the world. That’s how you win. 

Next, ask yourself: how can I use my talents to accomplish what is most important to me? Choose to develop a skill that will help deliver what matters most to you. Identifying a talent and then applying it to something important is how you develop a talent into a skill. Be intentional. What opportunities can you create, volunteer for, or assign yourself where you can practice and apply that skill? 

Finally, ask yourself: what unique contributions can I make with that talent? Pick a skill to develop that holds the greatest potential for success. Always lead from your strengths. You’ve heard the saying, “It’s hard to be someone else. It’s easiest to be you.” When you operate from your greatest talents, you set yourself up for success. It is hard to lose when you’re connecting your passion to talents that you’ve invested in and finding places where you can fully express those talents. 

All roads lead back to your soul. Find your soul seat and sit in it. Appreciate your natural talents. Develop them into a stronger skill in 2022.

Download my 5 Clues to Identify Your Natural Talents

If you’re ready to make some career moves next year, now is the time to start planning. Join my g2Coach community today and gain clarity, confidence, and a game plan to transform your growth with coaches, resources, empowering content, and an amazing tribe of ambitious women eager to support one another. Get your first month’s membership for just $1!