How to Use What You’re Good At to Hit Your Goals

In this second season kickoff of the Balanced Badass Podcast, Tara shares her holiday adventure that unexpectedly landed her in the hospital with blood clots. Reflecting on her experience, she encourages listeners to focus on their strengths to achieve their goals without burnout. 

Using relatable examples and research-backed insights, Tara emphasizes the importance of leveraging what you’re naturally good at to make life easier and more fulfilling. She invites listeners to identify and use their unique strengths, offering practical advice on how to do so effectively.

00:00 Welcome to Season Two!
00:35 A Holiday Hospital Stay
01:39 Reflecting on Goals and Strengths
02:36 The Power of Focusing on Strengths
03:51 Identifying Your Strengths
07:24 Using Your Strengths to Achieve Goals
09:43 Embracing Your True Self

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Season Two!
• 1:21 A Holiday Hospital Stay
• 2:25 Reflecting on Goals and Strengths
• 3:22 The Power of Focusing on Strengths
• 4:37 Identifying Your Strengths
• 8:10 Using Your Strengths to Achieve Goals
• 10:29 Embracing Your True Self

Transcript

[00:00:00] Well, Hey there friend, happy new year and welcome to season two of the balanced badass podcast. I'm excited for this second season because not only do I have some great topics to chat with you about, but I'm also going to start bringing in guests once or twice a month so that we can all learn from different perspectives.

So I hope you're as pumped for that as I am. Now I got to ask since this is the first time we're chatting since the holidays, How was your break? I hope it was relaxing, peaceful, and maybe even full of cookies and naps. Mine, on the other hand, was a little different this year. Yeah, while most folks were sitting by the tree, sipping their hot chocolate, and watching Elf for the millionth time, I was in the hospital.

Yep. I ended up going into the ER the Sunday before Christmas because I was experiencing pretty bad shortness of breath and ended up [00:01:00] finding out that I had two blood clots in both of my lungs, along with some in my leg. Super festive, right? Merry Christmas to me. Thanks, Santa. I'll spare you all the details, but I ended up being in the hospital for just about a week.

Which meant that I spent Christmas all dolled up in that beautiful hospital gown, eating Chinese takeout and watching whatever I could find on the limited channels the TV had in my room. I definitely did not have a hospital stay on my 2024 bingo card, but it is what it is. but while I laid in that terribly uncomfortable hospital bed, I had a lot of time to think.

And one of the things that took up a lot of my brain space in that week, Aside from, you know, almost dying, was what I wanted to accomplish this year and how the heck I'm gonna make it happen. Which then got me to thinking about how I can use my strengths to help lead me in the right direction. So that's what we're going to talk about today.[00:02:00] 

How to figure out what you're already amazing at and actually use it to hit your goals without burning yourself out. If there's one thing I know for sure after spending Christmas hooked up to IVs, it's that we don't have time to waste on things the hard way when we already have the tools to make life a little easier.

The thing is, most of us are so good at pointing out what we're bad at. Like, we're painfully good at this. I'm terrible at sticking to a routine. I'm awful at time management. I don't know how to organize my shit. Sound familiar? But what about the flip side? What about the stuff you're already amazing at?

The stuff that makes you, you, and sets you apart from everyone else. That's where the magic happens, my friend. In fact, research shows that people who focus on their strengths are not only more successful, but also happier. And who doesn't want to be a little happier? Gallup found that people who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be [00:03:00] engaged in their work, and three times more likely to have an excellent quality of life.

That's huge. And honestly, it makes sense. When you're leaning into what you're naturally good at, everything just clicks. It makes sense. It feels less like dragging yourself uphill in the mud and more like, I don't know, riding a bike downhill on a sunny day. Less struggle, more flow. When I facilitate workshops on strengths, I always include an activity where I ask participants to write their name five times on a piece of paper.

Then I ask them to switch their pen to their non dominant hand and to do the same thing. Most folks struggle with this, unless they're ambidextrous, of course. But I do this activity to demonstrate how it feels to work with your natural talents compared to trying to work with the things that don't come naturally to you.

But the problem is we're so conditioned to fix ourselves that we miss the strengths we already have. Because if you're like most [00:04:00] people, you've spent years, maybe even decades downplaying or ignoring what you're naturally good at. I mean, how often do you think about picking up a pen with your dominant hand?

I'm going to guess not often. And the same goes for your strengths. But why is that? Because somewhere along the line, you were taught that your strengths don't count unless they're flashy, obvious, or exactly what someone else wants from you. Maybe you're great at solving problems, but because you're not the person in the room, you don't think it's leadership.

Maybe you're amazing at noticing the little details that make things better, but you've convinced yourself that it's just being picky. Or maybe you're the person everyone comes to for advice, but you've dismissed that as just being nice.

So many of us are stuck in this trap of thinking that the things we're good at don't matter, just because they don't fit into some shiny cookie cutter idea of success. And honestly, that's [00:05:00] crap. Because your strengths are the key to building a life that actually works for you, not the life you think you're supposed to have, but the one that you really want.

And here's the thing about leaning into your strengths. It's not just about being more productive or hitting your goals faster. It's about shifting the way you use your energy. Think about the last time that you tried to force yourself to be good at something that didn't come naturally to you. Maybe it was a work project.

Or maybe it was something in your personal life. Like trying to be the fun mom at the school bake sale when you're more of a write a check and move on kind of mom. No judgment either way. How did that feel? Probably exhausting. Like you were pouring all your energy into something that didn't feel right.

And that's what happens when you ignore your strengths. You end up spending so much time fighting against yourself that there's nothing left for the things that actually light you up. Now contrast this with the [00:06:00] times when you're in your zone, when you're doing something that feels easy, natural, and aligned with who you are.

Maybe it's leading a meeting and realizing that you're the one who can bring everyone back to Or maybe it's solving a problem no one else could figure out because you're great at seeing patterns. Whatever it is, you know that feeling. It's like a weight lifts off your shoulder and everything just flows and you feel light and airy.

So let's talk about how you figure out what your strengths actually are. Because I know some of you are probably thinking, Tara, I have no freaking idea what I'm good at. And that's okay. Let's figure it out together. Think about the things that feel easy to you. Not just the stuff that you can do, but the stuff you're naturally good at.

Like, are you the friend everyone calls when they're spiraling because you're so good at calming people down? Or are you the one who can whip up a color coded spreadsheet for a family vacation like it's [00:07:00] nothing? those things might feel small to you, but trust me, they're not. And another way to figure it out?

Ask people. Seriously, just ask them. People love to tell you what they think you're great at. Text a friend or coworker and just tell them that you're trying to figure out what your strengths are and ask if they have any thoughts as to what you're really good at. Their answers might surprise you. Now once you get a handle on what your strengths are, the fun part is using them.

Because this is where the rubber meets the road, my friend. Let's say one of your strengths is problem solving. You're the person who can take a messy, chaotic situation and somehow make sense of it. That's amazing. Use that strength to tackle your goals. Break down what you want to accomplish into bite sized pieces and create a clear plan.

Or maybe your strength is creativity. You've got a knack for thinking outside the box and coming up with ideas that no one else would. Instead of trying to force yourself into a rigid [00:08:00] routine that doesn't work for you, use that creativity to make your goals more fun. Turn them into a game, a project, or something that just feels exciting to you.

The key is to stop trying to be something you're not. If you're not naturally detail oriented, don't beat yourself up for not being a perfectionist. If you're not a big picture thinker, stop trying to map out grand five year plans. Lean into what you're good at and let that be the thing that guides you.

When you start leaning into your strengths, something magical happens. Your goals stop feeling like these huge, overwhelming mountains, and they start feeling doable, like steps that you can actually take.

Let me give you an example. I have a friend who's been working insane hours in a leadership role, trying to handle her team's needs, her boss's expectations, and her own personal life. And no matter what she does, she feels like she's failing. Her main complaint is that she's not organized enough and she struggles with time management.

But the [00:09:00] thing is, those aren't her strengths. Her strength is in connection. She is incredible at building relationships, understanding people and motivating them. So instead of forcing herself to become this hyper organized spreadsheet loving person, she's leaning more into what she's already great at.

She's using her connection skills to delegate more effectively and create a stronger support system. And you know what? Her time management is actually improving not because she suddenly became a master planner, but because she stopped trying to be someone she wasn't. And that's the power of working with your strengths.

It's not about changing who you are. It's about amplifying what's already there. But there is a scary part to this because there's something really vulnerable about leaning into your strengths. It means having to let go of the idea that you have to be good at everything.

It means admitting that there are some things you're just not going to excel at, and that's [00:10:00] okay, But that's hard, isn't it? Especially if you're someone who prides yourself on being a high achiever.

The idea of letting go can feel like a complete failure, like you're giving up. But what if letting go is actually a strength? What if it's a sign that you're confident enough to say, this isn't my lane and that's okay, because I'm going to kick ass in the lane that I am meant to be in. Here's what I want you to remember.

You don't have to be everything to everyone. You don't have to fix every weakness or prove yourself in areas that don't matter to you. The most successful, fulfilled people aren't the ones who are good at everything. They're the ones who know exactly what they're good at and double down on it. So take a goal you've been working on and ask yourself, how can I approach this using my strengths?

If your goal is to build a better work life balance and your strength is creativity, how can you use that creativity to design boundaries that work for you? Maybe it's creating a visual reminder [00:11:00] of your non negotiables or coming up with fun ways to unwind after work. Or if your goal is to grow in your career and your strength is empathy, how can you use that to build deeper relationships and create opportunities for collaboration?

Pick one goal, one strength and one action, and then see what happens. Your strengths are your foundation. They're what make you uniquely capable of achieving your goals and doing it in a way that feels good, not draining. So stop wasting time trying to fix what's broken. Start focusing on what's already working.

Because when you do that, everything else gets easier. And if you're still sitting there thinking that you don't know what your strengths are, let's talk. Send me a message, book a session, whatever you need, we'll figure it out together. Until next time, take care of yourself, lean into your strengths, and keep being the badass I know you are.

I'll see you next week.