Finding Your Strengths

One of the questions I hear most often from women is: “How do I know what my strengths are?” Beneath that question is usually something deeper – “Am I really enough?” or “Do I have what it takes?”

Yes and yes. You already carry inside you everything you need. Discovering your strengths is simply the process of uncovering the gifts God has already given you.

What Are Strengths?

Strengths are the unique blend of talents, skills, and knowledge that make you who you are. Sometimes your strengths show up as natural talents or as the activities and tasks you enjoy most. Other times, they’re skills that developed over time, through experience, challenges, or even failures. That means that finding our strengths is a lifelong journey as we continue to learn and grow.

How Do You Discover Them?

When I started my career over twenty-five years ago, if someone asked me what my strengths were, I would have had no clue! I likely would have rattled off that I was a hard worker, fast learner and good with data. Those wouldn’t have been wrong, but they are surface-level.

A few years into my career, I completed a strengths assessment that helped me begin building an understanding of my strengths. The assessment confirmed what I would have rattled off and exposed me to strengths I had yet to see or understand. Sometimes we need an outside perspective – like an assessment or a coach – to help us dig deeper and to better appreciate what makes us unique.

Here are a few ways you can begin uncovering your own strengths:

1. Informal Reflection

Take a blank page and make three columns: Task/Project, Skill/Talent, and Passion (Yes/No). Think about 3–5 tasks or projects that were a success – whether in your work, family, or community.

• In the first column, write down the task or project.

• In the second column, write down all of the skills you used.

• In the third column, note if practicing those skills brought you joy or not by marking yes/no.

2. Ask Your Circle

Invite 3–5 people who know you well to reflect back the strengths they see in you. How do their answers line up with yours? Specifically the skills that brough you joy? Patterns will start to appear hinting at your natural strength.

Please know, this step is crucial. Often, others can spot the gifts we overlook in ourselves.

3. Try an Assessment

Tools like the VIA Character Strengths or CliftonStrengths are available for free or for a nominal investment. These resources can help name and affirm the qualities you’ve sensed but couldn’t articulate.

Why It Matters

Clarity on your strengths isn’t just “nice to know.” It’s a foundation for living with balance, confidence, and impact. Knowing your strengths can help you move through challenges with more peace, and you step into opportunities with more boldness. You stop striving to be everything to everyone and start becoming the woman you were always meant to be.

Your Next Step

If you’re ready to go deeper or need help finding your strengths, coaching can be a powerful space to do that work. Sometimes all it takes is someone to reflect back what’s already true about you. Because your strengths are already there, waiting to be seen, celebrated, and lived.

Remember: Your dreams aren’t too big. They’re the blueprint. And your strengths? They’re the tools God has already given you to build the life He designed just for you.

Be well,

The LIPSTICK Coach