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Personal Narrative: Capitalize On Your Strengths

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Capitalize On Your Strengths
Like many kids, I wanted to be a veterinarian.
That is, until I was nine and fainted at the sight of my own blood when I cut my finger.
That was my first lesson in the fallacy of following a passion versus following something you're good at. No matter how much I loved animals and cared for their wellbeing, I couldn’t (and still can’t) stand the sight of blood without getting light-headed in record time.
On the other hand, I’ve always been good at talking to people and solving their problems, and that talent is the basis of what I do today.
The point is that one of the greatest sources of personal satisfaction is utilizing a strength and making a difference with it, because that strength represents the best version …show more content…

It’s not representative of reality. Often our passions are areas we don’t have a great deal of experience with, and are just something that sounds like something we would like. This is idealizing something and putting it on a pedestal. Naturally, if you don’t have deep experience in something and have only seen the positives, it will be attractive. It’s like looking at a picture of people on top of a mountain. They look great in the picture, but that photograph has only captured a glorious final moment; it does not show the grueling 20-mile hike and 5,000 foot rise in elevation it took to get there.
Third, passion ignores talents and strength. You can be as passionate about tennis as you want, but you still may not have the talent to be a good player. Even at the top level, there are professional players who will never rise above a certain plateau because they lack the talent. It’s entirely possible to be seduced by the notion of passion and toil away for years without any real progress, improvement, or results.
At some point, it becomes clear that capitalizing on your talents and strength will always set you apart from the pack in whatever you choose to do. If you want next-level results, and to live to your full potential, you should capitalize on your

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