When I first heard the words personal significance, I was not quite sure what they meant. However, I knew at that time learning the meaning would make a great difference to me. I remember thinking my mind is computing the definition of these words, however my body is not feeling the meaning, I am not owning the words, I am not taking them into me. There is no flash of recognition ah! Yes…. I live these words. My life is a demonstration of these words. I understand the guts of these words on a daily basis. As the weeks went by, I returned to these words, musing on what they meant to me. Then I took the Strengths test. What a deep impact on me. How I see myself and how I interact with the up and down spirals of my life. I always admired, even envied people who where Achievers, had Determination, Consistency; I knew I wanted to be that way and I was definitely not. Responsibility, Follow Through, Attention to Detail are all hard earned, learned skills. Continually I made myself wrong and put myself down, I lived in a culture that admired, revered and rewarded action. Somehow I was missing the mark; there was something lacking in me. When I read my skills: Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Gratitude, Wisdom, Spirituality, Forgiveness; I said to my self, those are strengths? I had no idea, yes, I was aware of all of these areas of focus, they all lived in me, defined me, motivated me, brought me to a depth of feeling; yet they were so natural to me, they were invisible to me, and although it is embarrassing to admit I did not value them, they certainly were not on my radar screen of “strengths to play to”. They were just there. I was absolutely in the dark regarding labeling these abilities as Strengths. These were talents that existed in the area of Being not Doing. I wanted Doing; Action; Take Charge!…. “Being was a Strength! Who Knew?” All of a sudden multiple aspects of my life became very evident and made sense. A movie of my life flashed on the screen of my mind. For example, I am a Life Coach; I have been a Spiritual Therapist. All of these Strengths feed, contribute and nurture those life callings. At one time in my life I lost faith in myself and said, “I must develop my weaknesses”, so I became an Office Manager thinking that I could learn and build on my “weakest links” thereby becoming a better person. I fell into a deep, powerless depression, no wonder! I am developing a new appreciation of myself, Who I Am at my Vibe core. Many of my strengths are about Transcendence something that has always interested me, and that I have spent a great deal of money studying, at the same time always noticing that a lot of people were taking Business, Marketing and Finance classes. Now, I value me. I am valuable. Yes, I have developed some great skills using the build-my-weakness-strategy; now it is time to focus, develop and play to what lives in me, what abides in me, what is the truth of me. I am a powerful loving being and as I play to my strengths, I have a great deal to offer to the world. I am a person of significance. I am Me.
– Jillian O’Hara, Certified Life Coach
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I have a much better understanding of what my strengths are, and have learned how to incorporate them into my day. Developing my strengths has given me the clarity and focus to determine what I want. Knowing what I am good at has contributed to the belief that I will attract the things I want in my life.
The life coach training class of the Applied Neuroscience Institute has given me a gift of renewed life with solid direction. I now have a more meaningful life, experiencing a natural progression with renewed vigor, enthusiasm for each day, and a defined personal significance and meaning.