I will give an example with a boring job. Let's say the accounting department printed thousands of report sheets. They need to be packed in a uniform style, marked with dates and types of documents. This will make it easy to find documents in the future.

If you don't know your strengths, you can't ask yourself, “Where can I use my strengths? How to use humor and creativity?" Knowing your strengths allows you to analyze how to do the work easier and faster. You will be able to find out in which areas you are underutilizing your strengths and increase your productivity.

Another strength is that we have been doing it for many years, and not only know how. People usually do something for years because the result of the work brings benefits and corresponds to values. Rarely is goodwill reciprocated. The example below reveals how this can lead to the life we've always wanted.

In the ninth grade, I chose where to study. I wanted to become a designer, but my parents insisted on the oil field. Then everyone told me the same thing: "Listen to your parents, because they have life experience." This gave the impression that I was inexperienced and wrong in my design choices. The experience of my parents was on the side of the oil woman, it put pressure on me and made me feel insecure in my judgments. But I could not stand the oil field and did not want to waste my life on it.

One evening I angrily began to analyze what it is - the "parental experience" that is pressing so hard on me? I have come to the conclusion that this notion is meaningless. Adults are grown-up children who have different experiences and analyze them differently. For example, someone does not know about typical thinking errors and comes to the wrong conclusion, and someone's experience is outdated. Therefore, some will advise one thing, others - another. Among them are those who have been advising people in choosing a profession for 20 years, and even they make mistakes. What then to say about my environment? It was a liberating thought.

I try to think critically because it brings me what I want. This is not a question of money. Also, the artist's strong point is a sense of aesthetics. He expresses them in his works because he satisfies aesthetic needs. A strong point is the desire to help others. Such a person can happily work in a dog shelter. This is how strengths arise and develop.

You do quality work when you use your strengths. You see the result of your work and feel your competence, which increases your self-esteem. You accept yourself more, so you feel "good enough".

Through work, you also demonstrate your abilities and maybe even inspire someone. Colleagues respect you for your skills, and friends and acquaintances give you compliments. You feel welcomed into the company.

Thus, you get pleasure from the result of work and live as you want when you use your strengths. This allows you to practice your strengths over and over again. A "perpetual engine" is created: you develop strengths because you become happier, and vice versa. This is how you can reach the heights in your field.

Keep a diary. At the end of the day, remember a time when you felt proud, happy, or deeply conscious. Then ask yourself two questions:

Ask others. Contact a person with whom it is convenient for you to communicate. Ask him what he likes.

“Brave,” “creative,” or “empathetic” explains little without an example. Recall what the person noticed, decided, practiced, and supported in a real situation.

Persistence helps finish difficult work but without flexibility becomes exhausting rigidity. Empathy supports closeness but without boundaries may lead to overload. Strengths need proportion and neighboring skills.

A questionnaire offers language for observation but depends on self-report and context. Check results against examples, feedback, and behavior under stress.

The Emotions Journal EQ reveals contexts where a resource is available or blocked by fear, fatigue, or overload.