When are you in bloom, MAMA?
What is it that helps you to bloom, MAMA? To be at your best?
It is rare that we invite ourselves to think about such things - and god forbid that it makes us arrogant or overly-confident, right? (Did you find yourself thinking that…?)
Instead - recognising when we are our best is an important component of how we become more confident in ourselves and what we have to offer. Having the language to matter-of-factly share what makes you special - and what makes you feel great about yourself - is allowed. It is perfectly alright.
And it helps when we might need to introduce ourselves to someone new professionally, consider what you want to share in an interview, or how you want to apply yourself as you start up a new business.
It can also be a genuinely helpful list to have when you are having a bad parenting day: which tool from your toolkit will you use to help you get through it?
Strengths Activity
Below is a list of what we coaches describe as ‘Strengths’. These are qualities that come naturally to you - you don’t have to make much effort to be good at this. However, your strengths are not just something you are good at; they are also qualities that energise and excite you - and the words you choose here should be those that you would be most proud for others to describe you as.
Choose those strengths that best represent this - things you are naturally good at, and that you enjoy being - and form a list of at least 5. There are no rules to how many, but people normally choose between 5 and 15.
Here are some further prompts to help you identify your strengths:
What do you find easy and are naturally good at?
What energises you?
What makes you say ‘this is the real me’?
What do you pick up effortlessly
What do you do just for the love of it?
What are you naturally drawn to on this list (using your instincts not your rational mind)?
What puts you in the zone, or absorbs you fully?
What were you good at as a child - and how does it show up now?
I have added some reflective questions at the end to help you think about how you might use this information.
Here are some further questions to help you reflect on your strengths further.
How do your strengths show up in everyday life?
How do your (or have your) strengths show(n) up in work?
Which strengths would you like to use more of?
How could any of your strengths help you overcome a challenge or question at the moment?
Do your strengths naturally fall into categories or groups? If so - what do you notice?
What strengths have you developed since you became a mother?
What are the conditions when your strengths show up most easily? What are the conditions in which you bloom?
When we meet for the group coaching - bring your list of strengths with you. It might be nice to share what makes you bloom.