MY TOP 5 SECRETS TO FINDING YOUR STRENGTHS...

What are your strengths?
We all are given strengths which help make us into the person we are today and project our uniqueness out into the world. But do we ever shine a light on our strengths and use them to help others and our own personal development? I think we sometimes don't really understand the part they play in our lives and help form our success...Here are my top five secrets to finding your strengths..

THE KEY IS TOO LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT FOR YOU..
Have you ever really taken notice and accepted complements? WELL PLEASE DO..Listening to what others are observing about you is the perfect way to recognizing your true strengths and using them to their full potential. It can give you an insight into what people are honestly thinking and if you have more work to do to hone that skill.

WHAT ARE MY STRENGTHS?
This is a vital part of finding your strengths. And there are some really easy and effective ways to do this. One I want to share with you is don't over arch when thinking about your skills or add a sliver lining to the skills that have made you successful in life so far. Take time to think about it and put into perspective. There might be things that you are really good and excel at....but they don't drive you and are not your passion. write a list of all that that skill requires of you. Maybe you have been overthinking it? But don't take it for granted, there are so many factors that go into having a skill. Our potential does not end with that one skill.

READ EVERY COMMENT AND NOTE..
Most of us all have social media right? Well it's the perfect place to gather information about what you strengths really are. Engage by taking a look back at what people were saying. Go back and read it all and gather the information you need to observe what other people are saying your strengths are. It is after all a very personal thing finding your strengths, and what better way to do it than with honesty and authenticity.

WHAT ARE MY SKILLS? 
Now this is a very important part of finding your strengths. Knowing what lights you up about that skill or..what doesn't. Now I want you not to just look at your job, but look at what you have done for others or yourself and see which one has made you feel the happiest and most alive inside. This my friend is as very important skill and a true strength. Not all skills make us feel this way. I'VE BEEN THERE.

LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING..
Trust your instincts, these feelings are the weapon you should always pay attention too. If you gut is telling you something feels right..then it usually is. If there is something telling you no this feels off and not right listen to it!! its guiding you into the direction that you need to go. Take a close look at your gut feelings and look at the bigger picture. Our own intuition is the thing we all doubt in our self. But give your self some grace, you are smart and intelligent.

I am giving you permission to be proud of your strengths and how they define the person you are and still becoming. Let your strengths shine that through for the whole world to see and be inspired by. And don't forget to keep working on them. This world really needs the strength and inspiration that only you have.

Kristi Xx

WHAT I'M MOST AFRAID TO TELL YOU.

I am so grateful to have you here on this journey with me. I've been thinking a lot about what I'm most afraid to tell you. I've shared a lot of me with you all, and now I want to share with you a part of me that is normally kept pretty quiet. I have worked really hard with this but the bad negative monster still shows up once in a while. So I'm going to be completely vulnerable in hope that sharing this will help you live a more confident and enriched life. The thing I'm most afraid to share is that I'm NOT GOOD ENOUGH to live my dream....

Yep it's true! Do you feel like this? I have all the confidence that I can and will do it. But the negative thoughts still pop up and act ass a roadblock and I start questioning myself. I let that fear paralyze the action I need to take to make things happen. And then I tend to doubt myself and play the self doubt game. But I know that I have to quickly turn it around by the simple action of visualizing myself unafraid, and start moving towards my fear and facing it directly and head on. No questions asked, fear, doubt and all.

I think this time of year I always become caught in the self reflection motion.
Where am I going?
How am I changing?
What am I doing?
Where have I been ?
These thoughts roll around in my head at the coming up of a brand new year. But the thoughts mostly that surface are fear of rejection, vulnerability and fear of being judged not good enough to do my passion. Honestly when I started this blogging thing it was just a little hobby. The first months hardly anyone read what I had written. But something inside of me knew that I had to keep going, I had to do this. I could feel myself becoming very passionate about what I had started. And I knew this was making me happy in a way I had never been happy with myself before.

So then comes all the negative thoughts swirling around like a washing machine in my mind..
Am I good enough?
Will people read my work?
Will I be judged?
Will I offend others?
I was so caught up in these that I totally forgot my WHY. I wanted to make a difference and help other women find their best life and live their dreams through sharing my own experiences. I was so afraid that I was afraid of sharing this with you. How crazy is that right?

SO MUCH FEAR, SO LITTLE TIME. It began to get exhausting! And I though what is pon the other side of that fear. YES FREEDOM. You know we always have a choice. We can run the other way and see fear as the limitation to keep us where we are OR we can run towards it with bravery and courage pushing through to the other side. We can use fear as a very important tool to get us to where we want to be. A reminder of what doesn't serve us for the better.

I'm not entirely sure how I'll feel on the other side of sharing this. I guess only time will tell. But for now I'm armed and ready to run with my running shoes and wings. And not to mention a great big smile...

Kristi Xx