Carrying out the actions you agreed with your coach will require that you use your skills, experience and strengths. They will also guide you to decide which options are best suited to move forward.

My previous post was about your experience. Now I want to talk about your strengths.

It is easy to downplay those when you are feeling low and stressed. You feel you have no strength. But you do. Believe me. And this is what your coach is about.

First, your coach will support you to get you to see that you are stronger than you think.

Then, your coach will help you find your strengths. By recalling what you are good at, what motivates you, you will identify some strengths. Your coach may also ask you to use stories of times when you did something you thought you would not be able to do. What have you used to achieve it? Like for your skills and experience, look in all areas of your life. Do not focus on areas related to the matter you discuss. For instance, what gets you to go for a run every day will likely be helpful on helping you dealing with sustaining some work you have trouble to sustain. Do not leave a stone unturned.

Your coach may also point you to some tests that can help you identify your strengths. There are plenty available around and the results can be used to guide a discussion. Do not treat the results as a definitive, immutable list. It is your starting point rather than your destination.

So, what makes you strong?