The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
—Pablo Picasso
Are you familiar with our term “magic dust”? Some think of fairy dust or Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell flitting about. Not exactly!
Think in terms of what you’re good at. What comes easy to you? What unique skills and abilities do you possess that impact your level of effectiveness? What do you like doing? (Chances are you’re good at it).
How do you use and apply your special gifts? Do you make others aware of them? Better yet, do you use them to help achieve results and to develop others? These skills and abilities are our gifts, and that’s what we call “magic dust”.
Our “magic dust” differentiates us from others and often guides us to the type of work or career we find fulfilling. It’s fairly easy and natural to identify what we don’t like doing, and we generally know what we are not good at, but we’re not always aware of why we feel we had a great day at work and just in general feel good.
Are you able to define a good work day? What gives you a sense of accomplishment? Does it include leading others or contributing to their success? Leadership can be formal (ex. direct reports, matrix management, project manager, mentorships, etc), or it could be informal, where your skills lend themselves to you taking “charge”.
This could be related to your ability to build relationships, achieve common goals and objectives, apply your technical savvy, or simply that you are respected, appreciated, and looked up to.
What leadership qualities do you bring to your team or organization? Are you able to integrate your gifts/strengths both in your career and in your personal life? It’s great when your ambition and talents serve you rather than enslave you!
This may sound funny, but we have worked with leaders that excel at what they do, are acknowledged and rewarded for their accomplishments, but they quite simply don’t LIKE what they’re doing!
Hopefully that does not apply to you! What made you choose the position you currently have? Do you find it motivating and energizing?
Knowing what you enjoy and where you add the most value will energize you. Using those gifts and skills will increase your level of fulfillment, and sharing them with others will add to your sense of purpose.
What’s your “magic dust”?
Over the years, I’ve learned that a confident person doesn’t concentrate or focus on their weaknesses – they maximize their strengths.—Joyce Meyer