What Are My Strengths

One should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence.

Comparing your expectations with your results also indicates what not to do.  We all have a vast number of areas in which we have no talent or skill and little chance of becoming even mediocre. In those areas a person--and especially a knowledge worker--should not take on work, jobs, and assignments.

One should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence.  It takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.  And yet most people--especially teachers and most organizations--concentrate on making incompetent performers into mediocre ones.  Energy, resources, and time should go instead to making a competent person into a star performer.

ACTION POINT: Recognize and avoid your areas of low competence.