If you’ve ever said something along the lines of “That’s not really a skill. I’m just good at it.”…we need to talk. Because the things you shrug off as easy, obvious, or “something anyone could do” might actually be some of the biggest clues of the very thing you should do next. We have a funny way of assuming that if something comes naturally to us, it must come naturally to everyone else too.
Spoiler: it doesn’t.
Think about the things people tend to come to you for. Maybe you can walk into a room and instantly see how the furniture should be arranged and can make it look fresh out of a magazine. Or maybe you open Canva, move a few things around, change a font, and suddenly whatever you’re working on looks a hundred times better. To you? It’s no big deal. Meanwhile, the person next to you has spent 45 minutes trying to move one text box and is considering throwing their laptop out the window. Or maybe you’re really good at explaining complicated things in a way that makes people finally understand them.
We’ve been taught to look for the impressive stuff. When we’re trying to figure out what we’re good at, we tend to look for the big things like degrees, certifications, job titles and number of years of experience. And yes, those things matter. But they’re not the only things that matter. Some of the skills you’re best at may have been quietly developing in the background of your life for years.
Things you’ve learned because you were curious. Things you’ve figured out because you needed to. Things you’ve done so many times that you don’t even think about the fact that you’ve gotten really good at them. And sometimes, those are exactly the things worth paying attention to.
Pay attention to what people already notice about you.
One of the easiest ways to recognize your own strengths is to stop looking only at yourself. Listen to what other people keep telling you. “How did you do that?”, “Can you help me with this?”, “You’re so good at that.”, “I wish I knew how to do that.”
We have a tendency to brush those comments off don’t we?
“Oh, it’s easy.” Easy for you, Susan.
That’s kind of the point. What feels ordinary to you may be incredibly useful to someone who doesn’t know how to do it, doesn’t enjoy doing it, or simply doesn’t want to spend the time figuring it out. And guess what…useful has value!
But just because you’re good at something doesn’t necessarily mean you should build a business around it. You might be great at something you absolutely hate doing. No thank you, we are doing that here! The better question is, “What am I good at that I also genuinely enjoy doing?”.
And then we can take it one step further, “Could this help someone, solve a problem, make something easier, or create something another person would value?”.
Now we’re getting somewhere because somewhere between what you enjoy, what you’re naturally good at, and what could actually be useful to someone else is a pretty good place to start looking. Not necessarily for your next big business. Just for your next thing.
Maybe it’s a service you could offer, something you could teach, maybe it’s a little side income, a digital product, or a career change you’ve never seriously considered. Or maybe it’s simply something you’re curious enough about to explore. You don’t have to know yet.
Just start collecting the clues. Instead of sitting down and demanding that your brain come up with THE BIG IDEA, start smaller. Pay attention. What do people ask you for help with? What can you do for two hours and barely notice the time passing? What have you taught yourself simply because you wanted to know how? What do other people find difficult that makes complete sense to you? What are you always saying, “Here, just let me do it” about? Those are clues. And once you start putting those clues together, you might begin seeing connections you hadn’t noticed before.
Have I lost you yet or maybe I’ve got you excited to explore this! That’s exactly why I created The Sweet Spot Method.
It’s a simple little workbook I made to help you get some of those thoughts out of your head and onto paper. And it’s my treat to you so you can start looking for the overlap between what you love doing, what you’re naturally good at, and what someone else might actually find valuable…and all the things in between.
It’s not a 37-step business plan. And there’s no pressure to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life before next Tuesday. Just a place to start. Click HERE to download.
Because sometimes your next idea isn’t something you need to go searching for. It might be hiding inside something you’ve been doing all along. You just never thought it counted.
