Embrace the Power of Your Strengths
Navigating Negativity Bias for Personal and Professional Growth: tap into your own strengths and feel the power! Mim Bartlett gives us the 101 on how this can be achieved.
In our culture, there seems to be an inherent negativity bias: a tendency to focus more on the negative aspects rather than the positive ones. This bias is rooted in our evolutionary past, where we needed to be constantly vigilant for threats in order to survive.
However, it’s essential to recognise this bias and actively work to overcome it. By consciously shifting our mindset and focusing on our strengths, we can unlock a world of personal and professional growth.
Let’s explore how we can navigate negativity bias and harness the power of our strengths.
1. Embracing positive feedback
Think back to a time when you received both positive and negative feedback. Often, our attention gravitates toward negative comments, overshadowing the positive ones. It’s crucial to be intentional about seeking out and acknowledging our strengths. By making a conscious effort to recognise and appreciate our positive attributes, we can foster a healthier perspective of ourselves and our capabilities.
2. Using the power of your strengths
The Leadership Council of Australia states that only 20% of workers believe their jobs allow them to utilise their strengths fully. However, top performers excel by focusing on their strengths, identifying them, and leveraging them as the foundation of their work. By directing our attention to our strengths, we can maximise our potential and achieve excellence in our endeavours.
It takes less energy to improve from excellence to first-rate performance than to progress from incompetence to mediocrity.
– Peter Drucker
3. Focusing on positive psychology
Positive psychology, as a movement, emphasises building on strengths rather than solely fixing weaknesses. Unlike traditional psychology, which focuses on problem-solving and addressing what is wrong, positive psychology directs attention toward what is working and how we can leverage that. By embracing our strengths, we invite positive emotions, engagement, better relationships, a sense of meaning, and increased accomplishment into our lives, as observed by Martin Seligman, co-founder of Positive Psychology.
4. Playing to your strengths
Alex Lindley’s analogy of a boat beautifully captures the essence of focusing on strengths. Imagine your strengths as the sail, propelling you forward, while your weaknesses are the holes in the boat that require patching up. Although it is important to address our weaknesses to prevent sinking, dedicating most of our time and effort to harnessing our strengths will propel us further in life. By recognising and nurturing our strengths, we can overcome obstacles and achieve personal and professional success.
5. Making strides towards embracing strengths
To gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, consider taking the VIA Strength Survey. Identify your top five strengths and reflect on how you utilise them both professionally and personally. By doing so, you will enhance your self-awareness, uncover opportunities to further leverage your strengths, and experience a significant boost in confidence.
Overcoming the negativity bias and embracing our strengths can revolutionise our personal and professional lives. By shifting our focus from weaknesses to strengths, we tap into our true potential and experience greater fulfilment and accomplishment.
Let us challenge ourselves to break free from the confines of negativity and embark on a journey of self-discovery, utilising our strengths to create a positive impact in all areas of our lives.
Join Mim Barlett in the upcoming BRAVO Speed Strengths Masterclass in APAC, EMEA and The Americas. Join the BRAVO Women In Procurement Leadership Program today.
