Did you know that frustration and burnout can mean your talents are ‘hangry’? In today's episode, we dive into the delightful concept of nurturing your nature! Life can be tough, and we all know that adulting isn't just a walk in the park. So, why not focus on what makes you shine? We discuss the importance of not just using your strengths, but actively nurturing and developing them to unlock their full potential.
You’ll hear us chat about the nuances of nurturing your talents, the idea of nourishing them like a well-cooked meal, and how to create opportunities for your strengths to thrive. We even share some personal reflections on our own talents and how we are intentional about feeding them. So, if you’ve ever felt like your talents are a bit hangry or underutilized, this episode is for you! Join us as we encourage you to take a moment to reflect on how you can start nurturing your nature today.
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Nurturing vs. Using Your Strengths: It's not enough to simply use your natural talents; actively nurturing and developing them is what leads to a life of strength! This means investing time and energy into growing your talent, rather than just filling gaps or addressing weaknesses.
Embrace the Journey: Nurturing your nature is an ongoing process. Just as you would monitor your health or the needs of a plant, it’s important to stay engaged with your strengths and be open to adjusting your approach as needed to ensure they continue to flourish.
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Schedule frequent talent ‘check ups’: Just like our bodies need specific nutrients to thrive, our talents require attention and care. Regularly reflect on your top talents and assess which ones may be undernourished. This self-audit can help you identify areas where you can focus your energy to foster growth and satisfaction.
Create opportunities for your Strengths to shine!: If you find that your strengths aren't being utilized in your current environment, take the initiative to create opportunities for them to shine. Whether at work or in personal projects, seek out or design situations where your talents can be fully expressed.
Consider a VIP Day: If you're looking for guidance as you work to nurture your nature, consider booking a VIP day.
Book with Brea: https://brearoper.com/vip
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Lisa:
Hey, I'm Lisa.
Brea:
I'm Brea.
Lisa:
And today's episode is all about nurturing your nature.Brea:
How to nurture your nature or why to nurture your nature. I love it.
Lisa:
I love how your brain does this. It does it on a lot of topics. We'll talk about the topic and then you'll be like, but why? You know? So when you ask me the question, why should you nature… Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Should you nature your nurture? Let's nurture our nature, but I need to think on that. Is there an application for nurturing your nurture? Because I really like to nurture. Why should you nurture your nature? Instantly, I think about how adulting is hard. And really, I mean, stuff is hard. Life isn't just joy, joy, joy, joy all the time. So why not do things that for you are efficient and fun and can make life feel better. And if you're really taking your nature, and then you're leveraging it for all that it can be, then you're going to feel more efficient in your life. You're going to have more fun. It's going to be more exciting. It's not going to feel so laborious and difficult. I mean, we already have enough difficulties that will come our way anyway. So when you direct your attention for where your development is going, why not do it in these areas where you can really, really shine? That's what comes to mind for me.
Brea:
Life is hard enough. Yes, life is hard enough. We don't need to make it more hard. So yes, I totally agree 100%. And I feel like a lot of people listening right now are nodding their head in agreement, right? Like we all get that. I do think that there's a different nuance to the conversation because we love nuance here on the Lead Through Strengths podcast. There's a different nuance to the conversation where leveraging your talent or your nature is one thing, right? Leaning into it aligning with it. Those those are all Kind of versions of that using it, right? But the idea of nurturing it Developing it. I Feel like there's a lot of us out there who aren't really exploring the full potential of what that means to nurture Our nature, you know to grow it. How do we do that? How do we do that as coaches? How do we help our our coachees to nurture their talent, to grow the good, not just to use it as it is, you know what I mean? But to nurture it, to grow it, to invest in it, right? Like that's- That's a cool distinction. Yeah, yeah.
Lisa:
So I am totally getting where you're coming from. And the word that popped into my mind while you were describing it, because it almost felt like it with your words and the way you said them, was the word nourish. It's kind of like, If you were nourishing them, what would you be doing for them? If you were paying attention to making them better and better or have more things they could be directed toward or apply them in new situations and try them on in new ways and experiment with it and play with it, like all of those things could be ways that are nurturing it.
Brea:
Yes. We have to feed our talents because if we don't, then they get hangry. And we don't like talents when they're angry. That looks like bad behavior. That looks like not emotionally regulated. That just doesn't look good. It does not look like strength. It looks like weakness, right? So the idea of nourishing is so good.
Lisa:
So I definitely am a person who thinks you grow through practice, but you could practice the same terrible form over and over throwing a ball and just become stronger at your poor form.
Brea:
I love that because clarity comes from action. I a hundred percent believe that a hundred percent. You got to move in order to get some clarity. Here's the thing, though, when it comes to nurturing, Traditionally, outside of the strengths movement, we have learned to reflect on our practice, to take a look at how we did and invest in the places where we were falling short. This is the difference. I think we still kind of default to looking to where we fell short and, you know, how do we use our talents to like fill the gaps? But what about this idea of looking at what we did well, looking at where we're excelling even and nurturing that, growing that? Is it true that if we do that, that our great will get even greater and it will be strong enough that the weakness doesn't even matter? In some cases, right? Is it true? Is what we believe really true?
Lisa:
Yeah, so in addition to what you're talking about where we get focused on filling gaps and fixing weaknesses and trying to figure out how to do what we can't do yet, I also think there's this piece of nurturing your nature where you have to remember what makes you come alive and you have to remember where your greatest contributions are because if you will, You'll remember how to bring that excitement to your life. You'll remember what it feels like when you're contributing in the world. And you're like, oh, I need to get in that environment more often.
Brea:
So this is so good because it it brings us back to let's start at the very beginning. The idea of how do we nurture? How do we do that? Right. Well, I think it's looking for opportunities to use your talents and or creating those opportunities if they don't currently exist in your work from home environment, then you have to create those opportunities. If you're in an office setting, maybe it's being aware of the opportunities where your talents can shine and really thrive and raising your hand for those, you know? So whether it's taking advantage of them when the opportunities come or, you know, creating those opportunities for yourself, I think that is a very foundational way of making sure that your talents get nurtured.
Lisa:
Yeah, 100%. I love the word nurture. I love the metaphor we've been using with nourishing because it really is like that. Yes, you can go consume the fast food version of doing these things where you kind of get a drive-by experience of using them. But you could also do a slow cooker soup that you really worked on and you thought about carefully. And when you eat it, you're like, whoa, there's depth here. Like if you ever ate an amazing soup where you can just tell. this thing has been cooking for 36 hours with 20 amazing ingredients. Like that is what that taste experience is akin to what somebody is receiving on the interactions with you. They're like, whoa, when they say that person is so genuine or wow, like I really like that person. They it's because you're showing your strengths so genuinely and you just seem so on. That's what it's like. I love that kind of fed, nourished vibe because it really shows the richness that you demonstrate as a human.
Brea:
I love that, too. And now you're actually reminding me, Lisa, when we went to Four by Brother Luck. I had a soup and it was maybe the most delicious soup that I've ever had. So that's just a fun little memory that you're bringing up.
Lisa:
I think I know the one. Was it their duck chili?
Brea:
No, it was a butternut squash something something. It was delicious. Yeah. But here's, this is actually going to your naturing the nurture. Okay, I think it's possible. You're gonna make it work. Well, I, to me, they they're hand in hand. If we look to the nature and we say, look, I know I want to nurture my nature. So I'm going to feed my nature, right? I'm going to nurture it. I'm going to feed it. I'm going to nourish it. Okay. So how do we nature the nurture? Well, we have to look to the nature and say, well, what do I need? What, not just what food, like, okay, well, I need food. I need water. Okay. Yeah. So all of us do, but what do I need? So have you ever gone to the doctor and done a little allergy test or a blood panel that says, you know, hi, you're, you're vitamin D deficient, you know, or you're deficient in this or whatever. Like every body needs the same vitamins, nutrients, everything, but some are deficient in areas that others aren't. Right. And so if I'm going to, if I'm going to truly nourish my body, I need to know specifically what it needs. How much protein should I be eating every day? Well, that depends on how much muscle mass you have, or maybe hormone levels, or exercise, or all the things matter. So if we're truly going to nourish, and this is along the lines of self-care too. We talk about how it's important to take time for yourself. It's important to nourish. yourself and care for yourself, we have to know what we need in order to do that. And it's not just as simple as saying, well, we need food, we need water, we need to sleep, we need air. It's very specific to the person.
Lisa:
I like your metaphor. I can also really relate to it. Having been a person who nerds out on my micronutrients every six months and seeing how individual vitamins, minerals, etc. are on or off. And then I pay attention to them and give them extra care for a while. The same would go for the talanthemes. And you have to keep checking in. It's not like a static thing. Well, I gave it some gave it some nurture time. It's set for life. It's very much like those nutrients in the body. So I think that's a great metaphor because you do have to keep checking in and it depends on what you've been focused on, how you've been living, who you've been around, what kind of contributions you've been making, all sorts of factors. So it is an ongoing check-in.
Brea:
Yeah. It reminds me of caring for plants. Now, this is not one of my strengths. I do not do a good job of caring for them. And I think it's because I don't understand what they need. So I'm like, Oh, I'll just put it by the window and I'll get some water. And I, I think it's you know, good to go, but then, nope, it's not good to go. But in that situation, I would say, okay, well, maybe I'll, I'll move it over to this side, or maybe, oh, it's right by a vent. So it's just getting blasted with AC during the summer. Maybe it needs to be in a warmer place. So I move it to a different location and you move it around. And if you're patient, if you love it enough, if it matters, then you're going to figure it out, right? You're going to figure out. and maybe you have a cool little app on your phone to help you figure it out, but some way you figure out what it needs, right? You understand how much to water, when to water, how much sun, shade, all of the things, and then it can start living its best life. If we do that for plants, then why don't we do that for ourselves?
Lisa:
Right? And the CliftonStrengths report And many tools, coaching and other things, but the CliftonStrengths Report makes it pretty easy. It's like your app for the plant. And it gives you the chance to say, Oh, okay, I'm feeling drained. I'm feeling a little soul sucked right now. I'm feeling whatever negative emotion. If you look to your report, it can often, with a little bit of the nourishment of your talents, it can bring you out of the yellow leaves. So it's another just great reason you've got to nourish it. And everyone looks a little bit different. And you have to pay attention to your own. Great point that I mean, come on, if you're going to give your houseplant more attention than you give yourself. Yeah.
Brea:
Got to get your back here. You're more important for real, though. Like how many of us do that? I know I'm sometimes guilty of that. maybe not with plants, but maybe with other things that are not worth as much as I'm worth. I'm giving time and attention to other things or other people or other situations or whatever, and I'm not doing the work for myself. And so I think it's a real gut check to say, are you nurturing your nature? It's not a pleasantry or a platitude or a cheeky phrase. I really invite anyone listening to ask yourself, am I nurturing my nature? And if so, how, and how can I do more of it? And if not, what's one way that you can start right now? You know, today, what's one thing that you can do to appreciate your nature and to just give it a little bit of love?
Lisa:
Yeah. And I think there's an audit that could be cool as well. You know, I always go practical and I'm like, okay, let's apply this to something really going on in life. So I just did a quick run through of my top talents and I'm thinking through strategic, maximizer, positivity, individualization, woo, focus, futuristic, learner. And the one that pops out for me when I ask this question, am I nurturing? The one that I'm not sure I'm deliberately nurturing is strategic. Now it shows up in a lot of things. It shows up in my thinking. It shows up when I get to make a quick decision. But a lot of times I'm not making quick decisions. I do like to zoom out. I do like to prioritize. So there are a lot of things I could say I like to do this. But am I deliberately doing it and really pouring into it as something I could develop and make me a better human with? Ooh, that's the one that stands out to me that could use some directed attention. So I'm thinking, ooh, this little process, this question is an easy one. You could just glance down at the list and say, well, which one's in a micronutrient deficiency? Which one's sad right now? Which one's just not used that much right now deliberately? It is used in small doses throughout the day, but am I really giving it nourishment? Am I really developing it? Am I really working it? Am I really having fun with it? Am I really directing it? That one stands out for me. Do any stand out for you?
Brea:
Well, what immediately stands out is, you talk about that a lot on this podcast. The strategic wanting white space, you know, wanting an opportunity to be more intentional. So I guess I'll just reflect that back to you because…
Lisa:
It's hungry.
Brea:
It's getting hangry.
Lisa:
Yeah. It's hungry. It's hungry.
Brea:
Yeah. Well, for me, this is part of my nightly examine is intentionally looking at my talents and saying, which ones do they feed today? Which ones are going to bed hungry? My strategic, it also shows up every day, but it's like, I don't know, strategic is like real hungry. It's like a teenage boy, you know, like just a ravenous appetite all the time. It's like, like you can never feed it enough. And so it gets me into trouble sometimes because it's hangry a lot. Does that make sense? It's more needy than the others. And so if, if my strategic stays in my head, I can think and think and think and think and think about, we could do this. We could do that. It could look like this. It could look like that. Well, we can't move, you know, this way because I don't have this piece of information. And if I still need that piece of information, then I don't really know you know, how it's going to go. So I can't like make a decision yet because it could go the wrong way and I can just lose my mind, you know? So the best way that I need to be intentional about feeding my strategic is actually like moving forward. I don't know if that's just me. You tell me because you actually have strategic number one listeners with strategic. How does this show up for you? Is strategic always on the move? I mean, it's a strategic thinking theme. but I feel like it thinks on its feet. You know, it really like at its best, it's as you're moving and grooving, it's like, we can pivot this way. You know, we can pivot that way versus standing stationary and thinking through all the options. For me, I need to move, you know.
Lisa:
Yeah, I think always being on the move is true for mine as well. That seems like part of the nature of strategic. My strategic, I think, is what makes me decisive though. And I think when you mix it with Maximizer, it becomes an efficiency theme. So it might take on a little different flavor. But what, back to your strategic, if you were to think about a night, because you do this awesome nightly, tell us what you call your nightly practice again.
Brea:
It's an examen.
Lisa:
You're nightly examine when you're doing this. Tell us a night when this hungry teenage boy felt satiated. What was a day when strategic was like, yeah, I used that. And that was a good one.
Brea:
Yeah. It's when it allows me to pivot through unexpected circumstances. You know, when I had a plan, but things didn't go according to plan and I was able to just roll with it. Like that's where my strategic really, really comes alive.
Lisa:
Hmm. Ooh, I like this because it shows some, so much difference in strategic.
Brea:
Yeah. I think it also comes out in coaching. If I'm coaching strategic plus ideation is like, and all you can eat buffet. Like, I'm so happy if someone comes to me and says, can you give me some ideas of what I could do? I'm like, yes, I can. You know, I have a lot of ideas, but they're strategic as well. So that's also a really good feel good, you know, thrive kind of situation.
Lisa:
Yeah. Like mix that with strategic ideation and communication and you're someone's at the ready brainstorming partner. It's going to feel amazing.
Brea:
Unless it's a coaching client who continues to come back and, you know, every session never takes action. Then my activator is like, we're done. So that's, it's true though. You know, like my activator, if it's not activating, then it gets, it gets angry. So.
Lisa:
Well, that's the whole topic of the show, right? Talking about the idea of nurturing the nature. So if something's running against your nature and you can't activate and you're able to choose your clients and you want someone who is going to take action on the stuff they've come up with from their coaching, maybe that's, I mean, that's beautiful. I'm sure that's something that you've come up with in your nightly examines where you say, ooh, this isn't good nurturing of my nature if I keep Being around this and I'm not pushing on it to get action Mm-hmm.
Brea:
Yeah, and it's interesting because then I have a choice right we have we have a choice. Do I? Do I say okay, I only want to work with super high achieving People who are gonna come every week do the work come back and be hungry for more or do I say, you know what activator like I This person is really just looking for some ideas or some space to think and dream. So it's not time to activate yet. So you can just move to the back, have a seat. Thank you so much. We'll call you when it's your turn. And I think that's the thing is just understanding that just because I'm hungry doesn't mean I need to eat every second.
Lisa:
Yeah, if we're brainstorming, and I want them to take action for them, but if that's not what they want, because they're not there, or maybe the value they wanted out of this conversation with me was a person who could generate ideas with them, but they're not ready for or interested in the action. And to them, they're getting full value out of the coaching is Is that plenty? You know, it's really interesting to think through the coach's needs, their needs, what the coaching agreements are, what they're there for. Are they just not challenging themselves or is it something else? Did they just come for ideas? Do they just need a space to let their brain go open wide?
Brea:
Yep. Yeah. That's what makes you such a good coach. Lisa Cummings, everybody. Love it. Love it.
Lisa:
I'm bowing, I'm bowing. Thank you, thank you very much.
Brea:
Here's a round of applause, a round of applause. Oh my gosh, it's so good. That's why they pay you the big bucks. Come on, come on.
Lisa:
Okay, well, speaking of that, if someone wants to experience the Brea Roper, tell them how to find you and find this concept of nurturing the nature or nurturing the nurture, either one you want. Brea Roper's got it for you.
Brea:
It's a equal opportunity here for nature. Come on over to brearoper.com. You can schedule a call, just a quick little, a quick little chat. I'll get to know you. You'll get to know me a little bit better and we'll see if, if it's good fit. I'd love to work with you. Please come on over. Say hi, Lisa. How about you?
Lisa:
Come on over to leadthroughstrengths.com/getcoached. And actually, I think there's a dash in the getcoached. It's “Get Coached” in the main menu. And we can set up a one-off call anytime you need to feed those talents, because we don't want you being shriveled up and starved out.
Brea:
Yeah. You know, something else that's coming to mind is for both of us, we both have what we call a VIP day. And this is an opportunity for you to really step out of your everyday experience and nurture, feed, nourish yourself, whether that's your business, your talents, um, whatever is, is hungry the most, but you can find that at BreaRoper.com slash VIP or LeadThroughStrengths.com slash VIP.
Lisa:
Yes, this is when you are ready for a delicious seven-course meal and you're ready for the whole experience. You're not eating Panda Express today. You're having a VIP day.
Brea:
That's right.
Lisa:
Come on. This is your high-end, calm, nourishing, beautiful, delicious experience.
Brea:
You don't have to cook. You don't have to clean. You can just set the time aside, right? Come sit down at a beautiful table and be there. Show up for yourself, show up for your business and feast.
Lisa:
We've got to go now. I am very hungry, Brea.
Brea:
All right. See you guys later. Bye.
“Remember, hard work doesn’t have to feel hard. Aligned with your strengths, it actually feels easy, energizing, and fun!”
MEET YOUR CO-HOSTS
BREA ROPER
Communication | Woo | Activator | Futuristic | Connectedness
If you need a Strengths Hype Girl, for yourself or your team, connect with Brea at brearoper.com. She’s ready to deliver an inspirational keynote, empowering training, or transformational workshop. If you’re looking for an expert guide to support your internal Strengths efforts, reach out today!
LISA CUMMINGS
Strategic | Maximizer | Positivity | Individualization | Woo
To work with Lisa, check out team workshops and retreats at the Lead Through Strengths site. For 1:1 strengths or life coaching, check out the Get Coached link. For independent coaches, trainers, and speakers, get business tools support with our Tools for Coaches membership.
The Fine Print: This podcast is not sanctioned or endorsed by Gallup in any way. Opinions, views and interpretations of CliftonStrengths© are solely the beliefs of Lisa Cummings and Brea Roper.