Felt Like a Bucket of Water in the Face!

 

“I was surprised your desk wasn’t clean.”

That was the comment my boss’ boss said to me about when he was borrowing my desk while I was out of town at a meeting and he was in town visiting.

It was like an unexpected bucket of water in the face…”What?”.

But then I realized he was right.  And it wasn’t the first time I’d heard that.

My brother commented about it when we lived together and he had to clean up the dishes after me.

My wife commented about it because I didn’t clean the sink after a meal and left the dishes in the sink or on the counter.

So here’s the deal…

They’re right.

I’m not a clean freak.

I’m organized but I tend not to focus too much on my immediate environment.

I’m extremely analytical.  That is my superpower.

The upside is I see patterns, similarities, and differences.

And this helps me figure out better, faster, easier ways to get results.

The downside is the world outside my head doesn’t cross my radar too much.

So my car isn’t super clean.  And I struggle to remember to get the oil changed (if they didn’t put the sticker on my windshield I probably would be always late on it).  And other car maintenance often doesn’t happen until something breaks.

My home is the same way.  Forget about routine maintenance.  If it isn’t part of my routine it doesn’t get done.

And that brings me to the point of this exercise.

Everyone has something they are good at.

And with that comes things they aren’t really good at or don’t care about.

If you’re in business or sorting out what you should do in your career, you need to be aware of your unique gifts and quirks.

Find out where you can use them to your advantage.  In the end you’ll be much happier doing what you love.  And you’ll also not spend as much time trying to please others by focusing on things you’re not good at.

In my work as a manager I know I’m not great at planning events, giving gifts (like bringing in bagels or cookies).  So I delegate that to other people.  But I am excellent at finding better ways to do things and getting the most from my team as we drive to project goals.  And I can serve up the most complicated data in a nice pretty package with a bow around it.

So what are you doing in your life?  Are you making the most of your talents?  Are you fully appreciated in your current job?  If not, why not?  Is it them?  Or could it be the current environment is not the one that will let you spread your wings?

Figure it out soon.  Life is too short to not.  And embrace your flaws too…