Want More Happiness in Your Life? Do More of What YOU Do Best
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Co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory
Finding Happiness Through Your Natural Strengths
What makes you happy at work? Is it the satisfaction of solving a difficult problem, the opportunity to collaborate with others, or the freedom to approach challenges in your own way? The answer may have more to do with your natural strengths than you realize.
Research into happiness explores everything from the quality of our relationships to the environments in which we live. But there's another important part of life worth considering: the work we do every day. Since many of us spend a significant portion of our waking hours working, our experiences at work can have a profound influence on our overall sense of satisfaction and well-being.
Through my work with individuals and business teams, I've repeatedly observed that people experience greater engagement and satisfaction when their daily activities draw on their natural strengths. Sometimes, even small changes in how responsibilities are assigned or approached can make a meaningful difference. Understanding the distinction between natural and acquired skills is an important first step.
Natural Skills vs. Acquired Skills: What's the Difference?
Determining whether a particular skill comes naturally to you or requires more deliberate effort is an important step toward understanding what you do best.
A skill is a behavior or ability developed through training, practice, or experience. While all skills involve behaviors, not every behavior is necessarily a skill. For example, telling a joke effectively is a skill, while laughing at a joke is a behavior.
Natural skills are those you have an innate aptitude for developing and using. They often feel intuitive, engaging, and satisfying. Acquired skills, by contrast, are abilities you've developed through conscious effort. You may become highly proficient at both, but the experience of using them can be very different.
That distinction matters because the activities that come naturally to you are often the ones you enjoy most. Recognizing them can help you make more informed decisions about how you spend your time and energy.
Why Natural Strengths Matter at Work
Understanding your natural strengths goes far beyond choosing a career based on a subject you enjoy. For example, someone with a natural aptitude for mathematics might consider engineering. But engineering encompasses many different activities. Some roles require extensive collaboration, while others involve independent analysis. Some emphasize client relationships, while others focus on technical problem-solving. Finding satisfaction at work requires looking beyond a job title and examining what you actually do each day—and how those activities make you feel.
Most jobs require a combination of natural and acquired skills. Some responsibilities may align closely with your natural abilities, while others require greater concentration, preparation, or effort. Both kinds of skills can be valuable, and both can contribute to professional success.
The difference often lies in how you experience using them. Activities that draw on your natural strengths may leave you feeling engaged, energized, and satisfied. Tasks that depend heavily on acquired skills may be equally important, but they can sometimes require more sustained effort. Recognizing this distinction can help you create a healthier balance in your working life.
A Simple Exercise to Discover What You Do Best
Take 10 minutes to reflect on the activities and behaviors that make up a typical workday. Think about the tasks you perform, how you experience them, and which ones leave you feeling most satisfied.
- Which of your daily activities involve skills you've developed through training or experience?
- Which skills feel natural, come easily to you, or give you a strong sense of satisfaction?
- Which activities require greater effort, drain your energy, or lead you to procrastinate?
- What small adjustments could help you spend more time using your natural strengths?
You may discover opportunities to use more of your natural strengths within your current role. Sometimes that means adjusting responsibilities, approaching familiar tasks differently, or collaborating with people whose strengths complement your own. In other situations, it may lead you to consider a different position or career direction.
The goal isn't to eliminate every challenging task or rely exclusively on what comes easily. It's to understand what naturally engages and energizes you, then look for meaningful ways to bring more of those activities into your life. When you recognize and use your natural strengths, you create more opportunities for satisfaction, confidence, and fulfillment—both at work and beyond.
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About Lynda-Ross
Lynda-Ross Vega is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., where she specializes in helping corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals strengthen communication, improve team dynamics, navigate change, and develop their natural strengths. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a psychological framework and assessment system designed to help people recognize how they naturally perceive the world and use that understanding to build more fulfilling personal and professional lives.
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