Should You Work on Your Weaknesses or Invest in Your Strengths?

I’m a big fan of personal growth. The idea of continually becoming the best version of myself—so I can give my best to the world and to the people in my life—really resonates with me.

But here’s the question: Where do you start? How do you narrow down where to focus your desire to grow, especially when there are more than enough weaknesses to keep you busy for several lifetimes? And should you even focus on your weaknesses, or would it be better to double down on your strengths?

A few years ago, I developed a framework to help me hone in on the types of self-improvement efforts that would yield the most impact. It’s a principle I live by:

When it comes to your character, work on your weaknesses.

When it comes to your skills, work on your strengths.

Character is foundational. It’s the make-or-break factor in every aspect of life—personal and professional. Weaknesses in our character are problems waiting to happen, so it’s absolutely worth the effort to grow in these areas. By character, I mean not only our ethical and moral integrity but also our emotional intelligence and how we manage—or are managed by—our drives and emotions.

Skills, on the other hand, are different. The reality is, we can’t be great at everything. If we work really hard, we might become great at a small handful of things—those things we’ve dedicated significant time, effort, and practice to mastering.

Of course, there are some skills most people need to achieve their goals.

Let’s say you’re an amazing designer, but you struggle with time management and consistently miss deadlines. In that case, you’ll want to work on that skill weakness because it’s holding you back from truly flourishing in your strength. But that doesn’t mean you need to become a time management consultant.

On the flip side, if you’re a fantastic designer, it probably doesn’t matter much if you’re terrible at cooking, tennis, or coding. It might not even matter that much if you’re not great at public speaking—though for someone else, that might be a critical skill to develop if it’s holding them back in leadership.

The point is this: Everyone has a handful of skills they have the potential to excel in—skills that can make a real difference. I believe the most effective approach to self-improvement and growth is to figure out what those are and become the best you possibly can be in those areas, while also addressing any weaknesses that directly impede your ability to thrive in them.

When we focus on our skill strengths and address our character weaknesses, we’re pursuing a path that allows us to become the best version of ourselves—ready to use our gifts and seek the good of others.