What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What To Do?
Step 2 – Go With What You Know
What things do you know about yourself? Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Do you have a dominant personality and step right up to take charge? You might consider yourself an influential, inspiring person who can sell ice to Eskimos, as the saying goes! Perhaps your strength is being a team player or maybe you’re excellent with details!
Such personality traits can be discovered by a strengths assessment inventory, like the DISC. I enjoy using the DISC because it’s easy to associate the four major attributes of someone’s personality to the letters.
D = Dominant, direct – these are “big picture” people
I = Influence, inspiration – the “fun lovers” who love people
S = Stability, security – they will listen and provide safety
C = Conscientious, careful – great with details
While there’s a lot involved in the thorough discovery of your particular make-up, here’s a couple of examples and general observations to help you go with what you know about you:
Since I know my two dominant DISC personality traits are “I” and “D,” I’ve learned that when I need to work with figures or get a research project done, I have to consciously make lists, set deadlines, or – my favorite choice – get someone who has an “S” or “C” personality to help me out!!
My husband is an “S” -“C” combination – of course! Haven’t you heard that opposites attract? We laughingly refer to his “S” characteristic as “The Saint” because he can get along with almost anyone! And guess who handles the money in our household? My husband, of course! That’s one of his strong points.
Knowing your primary personality strengths and weaknesses is key to really knowing you.
In addition, recognizing whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert can help when you’re trying to choose the right path.
An extroverted person is energized by being around a lot of people, noise and activity. And, introverts recharge their batteries by spending time alone or taking a nap.
Think of times when you’ve used your strengths. Do you have a knack for working with kids? When you hang out with them, does a crowd gather? Perhaps you are a great listener and people just seem to tell you things they’ve never told another soul. Is there a counselor inside you just waiting to be released? Often, people realize they already know about addictions because of their own family dynamics.
And sometimes you’ll learn things through “the school of hard knocks.” Have you ever said, “Well, that’s a mistake I’ll never make again!” You’ve learned something through that experience that adds to what you know and who you’ve become.
What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
- Start with what you’ve been given (see previous blog)
- Go with what you know
Join me next time as I discuss step 3:
- Take a risk