The Story Of How We Built Our Strongest Character Trait

We devote much attention to the downside of situations in our life first, even when the positives are notably greater. This is no secret.

How often do you sit around and ponder your strengths driven by diabetes? Me, I’ll give it some thought; going as far to mention it in a job interview, scholarship essay, or speech. Do I think about it daily? Not usually, with the bulk of my thinking consumed with highs, lows, and the in-between.

Today I argue that our strongest character trait, something we have to acknowledge, has developed naturally, over many years, over many days, over the smallest of moments–that being professionalism.

Ask yourself this question — How many times in your life have you done something when you really haven’t felt like it? Reflect on that.

While low or high, we’ve hugged, smiled, empathized, performed, ran, spoke, cycled, taught, taken tests, and cried. We had no choice but to forge on, because in not doing so, we run the risk of missing our life. That’s never been an alternative — instead, we grit our teeth and bear-down. Damn it, we’re tenacious. We show up, day-in and day-out.

This brings us all the way back around to my favorite definition of a professional, spoken by a wise man by the name of Alan Wherry: “A professional is someone who does their best work when they feel like it the least.”

That’s what we’ve been forced to do; become professionals. When the going gets tough, we look around and say, “Shit, this is nothing. Bring it on.” We’ve been through tough times. We’ve had excuses. We give them no weight. We can’t afford it. With the focus in the workplace on emphasizing strengths (Have you taken a StrengthFinders assessment yet?), I believe this understanding of ourselves holds tremendous value, perhaps even in your next interview.