Lean Into Your Strengths & Smoke the Competition

Written by: Numair Qureshi

Ever get the feeling that others are accomplishing the same goals you are pursuing more quickly and easily?

Take fitness, for example.

We have Ectomorphs, who are naturally lean and find it difficult to put on muscle.

Then there are Endomorphs, who stand on the opposite end of the spectrum where they put on fat and muscle very easily but find it very difficult to become lean.

Finally, Mesomorphs stand in the middle. Their metabolisms are fast enough such that they don't pack on a ton of fat while being slow enough for them to build muscle along the way.

If you were born a Mesomorph, many would consider you to be gifted because Mesomorphs don't have to try as hard to achieve an athletic figure.

The truth is, people have advantages and disadvantages all across various spectra.

In fact, we are even born with nine different intelligences. Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist who is a a research professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard, created a model that showed these intelligences to be:

- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Visual-Spatial
- Interpersonal
- intrapersonal
- Verbal-Linguistic
- Logical-Mathematical
- Naturalistic
- Existential

There are also advantages within the different chromosomal markers within the sexes.

The fact is, people are complex.

Even if you are weak in some areas of your composition, you will be strong in others.

It's important to recognize the strengths you have and to develop them to fruition. That is how you get ahead.

Perhaps your natural musical intelligence is low, but you have a high verbal-linguistic intelligence. In that case, it may be a good idea for you to develop your writing skills and prioritize those.

You can still have anything you want, and you can still develop strength in areas that you don't have natural competence.

If you are an Endomorph, you can still become "shredded."
If you are a natural-born writer, you can still develop the mathematical part of your brain.

However, the important thing is to start gaining "wins" in the areas of your dominance. Once you do that, it becomes easier for you to develop other areas.

You may not have the genetic predisposition to become the next great Hockey Player who makes it into the NHL, but that does not mean that you can't be phenomenal on the ice.

However, knowing your areas of natural competence gives you a way to determine your ultimate path in life and where you should focus to gain the greatest advantage over others.

Focus on mastering your unique identity, and lean into your strengths. Build your life around your core strengths, and then make time to develop the rest of your competencies - but all in that order.

What are some areas that you excel at?