Swot Yourself To The New You

SWOT analysis is a tool used to audit an organization and its environment. Individuals can use this same tool to audit and organize their lives. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I use SWOT to capitalize my client’s strengths, enhance their weakness, embrace their opportunities and recognize the threats.

The dictionary has several definitions for strength. I like vigor of action, language, feeling, etc. as my working definition. I encourage my clients to be vigorous in their action, saying what they mean and meaning what they say, and being passionate about the choices and decisions they are embarking upon. Some of the questions we explore are: What are you passionate about? What is it that you do well? What strengths do others see in you? Everyone has unique strengths and talents that they have been blessed with. Once we discover our unique strengths I work with my clients to maximize those attributes.

We all have weak areas. A slight fault or defect. These defects are to be recognized and enhanced. I don’t encourage belaboring over the weaknesses. We recognize those weaknesses and develop a plan to enhance the defect. I believe in maximizing the strengths. It is more efficient to be performing at 90% of your strengths and bringing up 10% to equal perfection as opposed to being 10% efficient and having to raise your performance by 90%. Questions we explore when enhancing weaknesses are: What are you not good at? What area would others say is your weakness? What activities do you favor and what things do you stay away from?

Opportunity a chance for progress or advancement. A situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal and a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success. All of us have opportunities in life. Often times we miss opportunities, because of fear. No matter what issue my client brings to me, there is always an opportunity. Sometimes the opportunity is not clear cut but, there is always opportunity in every situation. Opportunities come out of strengths that have been identified. Questions we explore when looking at opportunities: How can we make this a win/win for all parties? What current resources do you already have? If you could not fail how would your life be impacted?

Like everything in life there is a positive/negative, good/bad, etc. With that said when looking at opportunities we also have to look at threats. What will impede my clients from moving from point a to point b? Threat an indication or warning of probable trouble. When we are exploring change we have to identify the threats associated with these changes. Questions we explore: What or who will impede you from accomplishing the action step? If you don’t make this change how does it affect everything else? What are the benefits if any of not changing? Our ultimate goal when identifying the threat is eventually turning it into opportunity.

SWOT yourself to the new you:
S = The Lord is the strength of my life whom shall I fear (Psalm 27:1 KJV).
W = But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV).
O = Opportunity I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day, the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4). We have to seize opportunity.
T = Threat “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17 KJV).
Action Step – Review the questions that are explored when using SWOT. Answer those questions so that we can review them in our free introductory session. I can be reached to set up an appointment on mevertt24@verizon.net.