Everyone has a dream life. Everyone has a dream job that they wish to do. And everyone wants to be extraordinary.
But how do you do that? No one else can do the work for you, it is you who has to take action. It is you who has to take the first step and then the rest follows.
Without action, you cannot expect to create the reality of your wishes.
A friend of mine suggests, “Action is Creation.”
These are not just some wise words, but the truth of a cut-throat competitive life that we live.
The first step towards standing out in a crowd is to know yourself in & out.
Every once in a while, evaluate yourself. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Know your threats and seek your opportunities.
This process is known as ‘SWOT’ Analysis. SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
How to do SWOT analysis?
To evaluate yourself through SWOT analysis, you first need to ask the following questions:
Strengths
What skills, education or qualities do you have that make you better than others?
What do others perceive as your strength/s?
Is there any belief system that you think can offer you an upper hand over your colleagues?
Do you have any certifications that make you stand out?
Do you think you have great communication skills? Or do you know many languages that others may not know?
Are you a part of a network that will help you to make connections that others failed to make?
What achievements are you proud of? Have you worked on any projects, assignments, etc. that give you an advantage over others?
Weaknesses
What do think are your negative qualities?
Do you lack the confidence to accomplish a particular task?
Is there anything that you think holds you back?
Is there a particular quality that you think you want to work on? Say for example, maybe lack of discipline or lacking punctuality.
What do others tell you is your weak point?
Opportunities
Do you see any new opportunity coming up that will help your personal growth?
Is there a demand in your current workplace that no one else is filling up but you be of value to it?
Can you be part of some new project that will help you to learn new skills?
Is there anything that you see your competitor or colleague failing at, where you can step in?
Do you think you can learn a new skill that will give you the necessary advantage?
Is there a new technology that can benefit you with better opportunities? Is it in terms of offering some extra service to your clientele? Or does it help you with better networking?
Threats
Do you see any particular colleague as a threat to your current job? What additional skills they have that you don’t?
Do you perceive technology as a threat that will take over your work?
Do you have any bad habits or personal qualities that can act as threats to your progress?
Through SWOT analysis, consider each one of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Try to introspect on each point in detail. Think from all angles and perspectives.
Work out a plan of how you can use your strength/s to propel you on your journey. Accept your weaknesses. See what you want to do to overcome them and turn them into strengths. Evaluate the opportunities. Check how they will help you to do better than what you are currently doing. Using the opportunities can itself help you to diminish your threats.
You want to be absolutely true to yourself when you do a self-assessment with the help of a SWOT analysis. There may be some aspects that you don’t wish to say out loud. However, unless you accept those weak points, you cannot change them.
Thus, be extremely honest, critical and realistic while jotting down each answer. That is how you’ll grow.
Use these points to help you grow and get better. Whether it is on a personal front or in your career. We would love to know how it helps you!