Discover the personal strengths that lie dormant within you!

Reading time 8 minutes
Discover the personal strengths that lie dormant within you!

You are unique. And at least as unique is the interplay of all the strengths that make you you. Even if you don't see it that way at the moment: You have personal strengths! Just like every other person. 

Maybe you're just too modest or too focused on weaknesses that you simply don't notice them. But don't worry, we'll put an end to that now.

We will help you to recognize which above-average abilities lie dormant in you. Not only will you be able to identify personal strengths, but you will also be able to build on them. This journey is a real booster for your self-confidence and you will advance quickly towards success.

What are personal strengths anyway?

Your strengths are your personal talents and skills. They help you to prove yourself in a wide variety of situations. In various moments, you naturally need different strengths to master them. Sometimes so-called soft skills such as empathy, team spirit, or a sense of Communication skills in demand. In other situations, however, hard skills are needed, i.e. expertise in certain areas.

Imagine you have a big project coming up at work with an important client. You gather in a large team and chaos quickly ensues. Everyone wants to say something, everyone has a different opinion and everyone talks at cross purposes. This scenario calls for strengths in the form of soft skills and hard skills.

Of course, you need the necessary expertise to make a valuable contribution to this team. But it's also important that you can keep an overview in this chaos and have good assertiveness. You also need to have a feel for interpersonal issues as well as empathy are valuable strengths that will get you ahead in these types of situations.

personal strengths examples

Why do we find it so difficult to recognize personal strengths?

I'm sure you know this too. You find it incredibly easy to praise others and tell them what they do particularly well. But when it comes to yourself, you get into trouble. Brooding. If someone asks you about your strengths, you either get all embarrassed because you don't dare show yourself confidently, or awkward silence envelops you.

You don't really know what to say because you're not sure what your strengths are. "Do I have any at all?" you ask yourself. We can assure you: Of course you have strengths! You just have a hard time recognizing them. But why is that?

Where does this uncertainty about personal strengths come from?

In most cases, there is a large portion of self-criticism behind it. Of course, it is good to critically question one's own personality again and again. But at a certain point, the whole thing gets out of hand and leads to a distorted self-image. You focus only on your minor flaws - which, by the way, we all have - and no longer value your talents at all.

Or maybe you just have FearYou might come across as arrogant if you stand by your strengths. But you are forgetting one very important thing: Self-confidence and arrogance are two completely different pairs of shoes.

It is also possible that negative experiences from your childhood are behind this. Did people often forbid you to speak up in the past, or was there incredible pressure on you? Did you always have the feeling that you were just never good enough? Such experiences can lead to low self-esteem in adulthood. This in turn makes it difficult for you to perceive your personal strengths as such and to stand by them.

A twisted perception

Maybe you're not particularly creative, don't get along well with large crowds, or have trouble finding your way in a new environment. "If I can't do anything with all that, then there's probably nothing I'm really good at," you quickly think, and that's the end of it.

But why is that? This is by no means the end of the line! Just because there are certain things that you're not particularly good at doesn't mean that you have no strengths at all!

Recognize personal strengths

Personal strengths: How to find them

Time and again in life you are faced with the question: What are your personal strengths? This starts in school with the choice of your advanced courses, continues with the decisions about which study or training place would be perfect for you and ultimately extends to the job search. Of course, your strengths are also interesting for your private life, because the best hobbies result from them.

You are sporty? Then join a sports club. Are you particularly good with children? Then babysit in your free time. You are musical? Then learn to play a new instrument.

5 tips to find out where your personal strengths lie

As you can see, in many areas of life it is important to know your own strengths. If you're one of those people who have trouble identifying them, we're finally putting an end to the misery. We've put together some great tips to help you find out where your true talents lie.

1. reflect yourself

Let's start with the good old Self-reflection. Think about the situations in which you have achieved the greatest successes so far and how you succeeded. What character traits helped you most in those moments? A closer look at your hobbies can also be very revealing, because things that we are good at, we usually like to do the most. So how do you like to spend your free time?

This doesn't mean lying on the couch or watching TV. Do you like jogging because you have great stamina? Do you like to draw because you're creative? Do you like to help out in soup kitchens and the like because you are very empathetic and always want to make yourself useful?

These are all great clues that will help you identify your personal strengths. If you focus on these things, you will be able to develop your strengths even further. And the best thing about this method is that you have fun doing it!

2. ask around in your environment

Do you find it difficult to communicate personal strengths through Self-reflection If you want to find the right person for you, ask your family, your closest friends or your colleagues at work. It is important that these are people with whom you spend a lot of time and who already have a good picture of you and your character.

If you know that you see the strengths of others much more clearly than you see your own, it will certainly not surprise you that others feel the same way. They recognize your personal strengths before their own. And that makes your closest environment your best advisors. So have the courage to ask them what they particularly appreciate about you.

3. face challenges

You are facing a difficult situation. How do you act instinctively to master it? In such moments, you automatically fall back on your strengths. Can you change your mind in a flash and immediately come up with the perfect solution? Do you have a great feeling for people and communication and are you able to mediate between all parties involved?

Do you always keep a cool head and act as a rock for others when things get difficult? Exceptional situations are often the best teachers. Deep inside you know exactly what you are good at and automatically fall back on these skills.

4. write journal

Journaling is becoming more and more popular and rightly so! Basically, you write diary entries. You write down what particularly occupied you today, what hurdles you faced and how you overcame them.

Which of your character traits helped you to settle the matter? This is exactly the question you ask yourself every day. If you always write diligently in your journal, you will eventually have created a great overview of all the personal strengths that help you succeed every day.

5. take a real time out

Finally the vacation is coming, but at Relaxation is not to be thought of. There are so many things that have long needed to be done and now you finally have the time to tackle them. The basement needs to be cleaned out, your living room could use a new coat of paint, and your closet will be bursting at the seams if you don't clean it out now. It doesn't have much to do with a vacation.

Take at least a few days just for yourself to give yourself the space you need. And last but not least, to recognize your personal strengths. During this time, work intensively with yourself and the things that bring you joy. Don't be afraid to try something new, because that's how you can discover undreamt-of abilities.

Personal Strengths: How to test yourself

You've probably already come across one or two personality tests. Just take a few minutes of your time and complete the test. our test! It is based on the so-called DISG profile. These letters stand for:

  • D = dominant
  • I = Initiative
  • S = continuous
  • G = conscientious

The model is based on the assumption that each of us has these four characteristics. The question is how pronounced they are in the individual. And this results in four personality typesall of which have their own personal strengths.

Find out which
Personality type YOU are
Only 3 minutes
Scientifically proven

The dominant type

Do you have a dominant personality? Then you are characterized above all by your ambition and determination. You always have your goal clearly in mind and work hard to achieve what you have set out to do.

At the same time, you also demand your freedom and don't let anyone show you any limits. You are the one who calls the shots. That makes you a born leader.

The initiative type

As a proactive type, you love to surround yourself with other people. You are open, communicative and inspire everyone around you with your positive energy with. The people around you can let themselves go with you and recharge their social batteries. Your personal strengths are your open-mindedness, your light-heartedness, your spontaneity and your optimism.

The steady type

Friendly, helpful and level-headed - that's what distinguishes the steady type. Your loved ones can always count on you, because even deep in the night you are immediately there when they need you. You are a born team player and make sure that there is always harmony. You settle disputes and support others wherever you can. Your personal strengths are primarily on the social level.

The conscientious type

Last but not least, we introduce you to the conscientious personality. It is particularly pronounced in you when things like order, logical thinking, plans and exactness make your heart beat faster. You are diligent and it is not difficult for you to concentrate on one thing for hours. You are incredibly motivated when you know that things will go exactly as you want them to. Your strengths include competence, reliability and accuracy - and your peers appreciate that about you, too.

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Only 3 minutes!
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Take the free test now
Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

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