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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