Crossing Linguistic Borders: How 'Standing in Your Strengths' Speaks to Us All
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My husband, Ricardo, spent several months working on the Spanish translation of Gary's and my book, Unlock the Power of Your Perception. The process involved much more than finding equivalent words in another language.
Even though Spanish is his first language, Ricardo recruited a professional translator and a beta review group of native speakers to help ensure the book's concepts were represented accurately. As we discovered, there's much more to translating than making literal, word-for-word changes!
The translation process sparked several conversations between us about the meaning behind certain phrases. One, in particular, was "standing in your strengths."
What made this phrase particularly interesting was that its meaning couldn't be captured simply by translating the individual words. It describes a way of approaching life: recognizing the strengths that come naturally to you, trusting their value, and choosing to use them intentionally. Finding the right words in another language reminded us just how important that distinction is.
The Essence of Standing in Your Strengths
The concept of “standing in your strengths” goes beyond just recognizing your natural abilities; it expresses the practice of fully embracing and actively using those abilities in all aspects of your life.
It’s the opposite of what many of us often do, which is obsessing over our weaknesses and limitations.
Standing in your strengths means capitalizing on what you naturally excel at.
This is more than a feel-good exercise. Research on strengths-based development has found associations between using one's strengths, greater engagement at work, and improved well-being. Recognizing and applying your natural strengths can make a meaningful difference in how you experience both your professional and personal life.
At its core, “standing in your strengths” represents unlocking your personal superpowers. When you stand in your strengths, you’re setting yourself up for success and providing yourself with the foundation from which you can meet life’s challenges.
All too often, we take our strengths for granted and only search for them when problems and challenges confront us.
Three Ways to Start Standing in Your Strengths
It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3:
- Identify Your Strengths: The first step is knowing what your strengths are. Sometimes, it's clear as day; other times, you might need a bit of introspection. Assessment tools like our Perceptual Style Assessment can help you begin exploring your natural strengths.
- Embrace Them: Own your strengths. Don't shy away from them out of modesty or fear of not being perfect. Accepting that you're good at something is an important step toward using that ability with confidence.
- Put Them to Use: Once you recognize what you're naturally good at, look for opportunities to apply those talents. This is where the "standing" part comes in. Stand firm, tall, and unapologetically in your strengths.
The wonderful truth about your natural strengths is that they aren’t static or set in stone. They grow and deepen as you gain more experience and insights.
Understanding your strengths also helps you put your weaknesses into perspective. Awareness of your weaknesses is important, but they shouldn’t be your focal point or consume you. Balance is key.
Perceptual Style Theory offers a framework for understanding why different people naturally notice, value, and respond to different aspects of their experiences. Recognizing your Perceptual Style can help you become more aware of the strengths you bring to situations and appreciate why others may approach the same challenges differently. Standing in your strengths doesn't mean everyone should do things your way. It means recognizing what comes naturally to you while respecting the different strengths others contribute.
Why Standing in Your Strengths Matters
Recognizing and using your natural strengths isn't simply a feel-good exercise. It's an important part of creating greater satisfaction and fulfillment in your personal relationships, professional life, and individual pursuits.
If this resonates with you, consider taking our Perceptual Style Assessment. Understanding your Perceptual Style can help you explore your natural strengths and make more intentional choices about how to use them in your work, relationships, and everyday life.
What does "standing in your strengths" mean to you? Have you found ways to use your natural talents more intentionally? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Discover how understanding your Perceptual Style can help you recognize your natural strengths and appreciate the different talents others bring. Explore The Power of Your Perception.
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About Lynda-Ross
Lynda-Ross Vega is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. She specializes in helping corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals with interpersonal communications, team dynamics, personal development, and navigating change. Lynda-Ross is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary behavioral psychology theory and assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their natural strengths and build the life and career they dream of.
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