Finding Your Sweet Spot

Hello my friend,

Let’s talk about our “Sweet Spot” today.

What’s that??

Before we talk about WHAT, let’s talk about WHY.  

Why do we need to know our Sweet Spot (SS going forward)? 

There are a few reasons, but here’s the main one:  when we know our SS and are actually taking the next step and conducting our lives out of our SS, then we’ll be living in greater alignment with the best of who we are, which will allow us to achieve greater excellence in what we do.

We’ll be living a more empowered life.

However, when we’re living out of alignment with our SS, then some of our greatest assets are lying dormant, sleeping, and unused.

And this can lead to a more disempowered life.

So what is our SS?  It’s the convergence of 3 circles.

Circle #1, KNOWLEDGE  

On one hand, this pertains to the sum total of all of our knowledge, because we never know how certain bits of knowledge will be relevant and help us when we need it.

But more specifically, I’m talking about our knowledge of a narrow slice of life that is relevant to our professional lives (or what we do for a living, “professional” or not).

This “narrow slice” that’s most relevant to our professional selves is mainly what I’m talking about.

We all know that knowledge is power.  And when we think about this SS concept, the more knowledge we have about “our area”, the more powerful we are.

Circle #2, SKILLS

Everything I said about knowledge pertains to our skills.  

Not only is knowledge power, but skills are power, too.  The more skilled we are in “our area”, the more powerful we are.

Circle #3, EXPERIENCE

Same thing–just transfer everything I said about knowledge and skills, and put it here.

The more experienced we are in “our area”, the more powerful we are.

So our SS is where these 3 circles of knowledge, skills, and experience overlap. 

Remember Venn Diagrams from high school math class?

That’s where we’re most powerful–knowledge x skills x experience = power.  Notice I’m NOT saying knowledge + skills + experience = power.

It’s multiplication, not addition.  These 3 elements have “multiplicative” power when combined.

Some people read my articles because they’re wanting to stay fresh and avoid burnout. 

So, what does this SS thing have to do with burnout?

Simply this:  sometimes what contributes to our burnout is feeling like we’re disempowered professionally because we’re not doing the things where we’re most powerful.  We feel like we’re in the “wrong place” or wrong job.

Of course there are a ton of other reasons that can lead to us burning out, but this is one possibility to consider.

Is your present “station” in life one where you’re drawing from the best of who you are in regards to your knowledge, skills, and experience?

There is much we could say about this topic, and perhaps we’ll come back to it from time to time.  It’s important.

In fact, there are actually 2 other circles that I haven’t included yet.  So you’ll have to stay tuned for the rest of the story! 

But in my thinking, these 3 are primary.

We all want to feel empowered, and this is one way to get there.

I encourage you to assess how what you’re doing for your job is drawing significantly from these 3 areas.

As always, feel free to contact me if you want to share any of your thoughts or discoveries with me.

Until next time, be well.

– Sean Cox, Chicago