Everyone has weaknesses. Perhaps it is that you just hate doing certain things, or maybe you are just a known procrastinator. Either way, it’s important to know where your weaknesses are and what you don’t like doing, so that you can choose to handle things effectively.

Passionate people often have the problem of trying to take on too much at once. You try to learn every skill necessary to complete a task no matter what it takes. This can either be a recipe for failure or a lengthy path to success. By taking on too much at once, you can lose the ability to make you feel like you’ve accomplished something because it took too damn long to get there!

So, how do you prevent this?

You need to find the things that light you on fire with confidence and give you the ear-to-ear smile that you simply can’t control. Then, once you’ve made a list of these happy things, you need to see which of those things move you forward in life and in your career. Not everything you do has to be 100% productive, but at the same time, you will feel more fulfilled if you organize your to-do list with high priority items on top. Break down your list into as many small steps as possible; it might be longer, but each item will seem more doable.

And now, let’s touch again on those weaknesses. Know the things that you absolutely hate doing, and know the things that you are bad at… then look where they intersect. These are things that might be better done by someone else; someone who actually enjoys this type of work. Being successful often means identifying what can be better accomplished by someone else, so that your attention can be focused on what your best role for the business is.

Say, for example, you need a new website for your business. One route is to read every book out there on the subject until you’re a semi-pro coder who can design a simple site in just under three months. Good job! You may have something half decent, or you may end up with a one-page site with the graphics of a kindergartener.

Stop wasting time

“It feels good to know I did it on my own!” you tell yourself reassuringly. But, does it really? How many countless hours did you waste trying to learn something from scratch, when you could have used those man hours on some other facet of your business? The thing is, some people spend their entire career learning to design websites because learning to do something is not a one time task. You learn the basics and then you continue to learn as the industry adjusts and grows over time.

Think about what you are good at and then think how much time you could have spent getting better at what you do rather than learning something new that you will probably never use again.

A little advice

I give you this advice and ask you to take it with a grain of salt. It works for some things and definitely not for others. I like to learn, at least a little, about how every part of a business works. This is especially important if you want to be a leader because you can relate to other people in your organization. You know what they struggle with and what is fun about each job. You familiarize yourself with job lingo and can see the bigger picture a little easier.

You only know if you try…

It’s also important to try doing lots of different job roles and tasks to help you find what you really love. You might discover that web design is the one job that doesn’t feel like work and you could go on to develop a flourishing career in the industry. But my point is not to waste your time on projects that don’t make you happy and tasks that don’t give you confidence in yourself to continue doing more great things.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

What have you tried lately that you absolutely loved doing? What things can you cut out of your life that will give you the freedom to pursue things that matter the most to you?

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