The Parable of the Produce Stand

Riotous colors in a grey stone alleyway of a tiny village in the Cinque Terre. Eggplants, peppers, beans, tomatoes, squash.... that scene on the Cinque Terre has stayed with me.  I offer up this image of summer splendor to illustrate what I'll call The Parable of the Produce Stand.

At a surface level, let's look at three observations we can make from the photo:

1.  Variety:  An array of different fruits and vegetables are crated by variety.
2.  Robustness:  There's absolutely nothing anemic about the produce in the picture.
3.  Offered for use:  The produce is displayed to be bought and consumed.

What lessons from this produce stand can help us increase our productivity and happiness?

1.  Embrace our uniqueness.  

Each of the thirteen or so varieties of fruit and vegetable in the photo has potential to make a unique contribution. There is no eggplant parmesan without eggplant. No stuffed peppers without peppers. No classic red sauce without tomatoes.  Like those fruits and vegetables, we each have potential to make unique, signature contributions. Our uniqueness is in fact measurable: Of the seven billion people on the planet, no one can contribute from the same collection of talents, skills, knowledge and experiences as you. No one. Those factors form your uniqueness, and your best contributions will come not when you try to be what you're not, but when you become more of who you are, building on and giving from your uniqueness.

How do you do this?  Start by learning exactly what your unique combination of talents is.  By far the most accessible, specific, and insightful tool I've seen for this is the Clifton StrengthsFinder®, an online assessment you can access at strengthscenter.com.

2.  Build our robustness.  

Those fruits and vegetables look healthy, colorful, appetizing.  They've been carefully planted, tended and harvested to bring out their maximum flavor.  So, too, we need to build the robustness of our own talents with intentional tending and feeding.

Let's say you've taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder®, you have self-awareness about your unique talents, but you don't know how to develop your potential. Build your talents into strengths by intentionally using them. Think of your talents as a muscle that will get stronger with exercise.  Focus on a particular talent theme for a week at a time, intentionally leveraging it toward goals you have. Build knowledge and skill that complement your talents.  If you'd like additional support, rev up with a Strengths Coach who can help you develop and apply your talents productively toward goals in work and life.

3.  Offer what we have to give.

While the produce in the picture looks beautiful, it's not a still life intended to amuse visitors along the Cinque Terre.  It's a working produce stand, where the fruit and vegetables are intended to be purchased and consumed.  So it is with our talents:  They're meant to be shared.  While it's sad to think of beautiful produce that spoils, never having contributed flavor and never having been consumed, it's sadder still to think of people whose potential to contribute is never realized.  The world misses out.  And, when we don't get to use our strengths regularly, we may miss out on some of the hope, confidence and satisfaction that are byproducts.  When we do focus on using our strengths, we are happier and more engaged in our work.  How much happier? How much more productive?  People who focus on using their strengths are three times more likely to report an excellent quality of life, and six times as likely to be engaged at work.

Each of us has utterly unique talents, knowledge, skills and experience to contribute.  We need to be and are needed to be productive. When we contribute what we uniquely can and have meaningful impact, now that is fruitfulness worth celebrating!

I hope you'll remember The Parable of the Produce Stand. You have great capacity to be productive. Embrace your uniqueness. Build your robustness. Share what you have to give.

For more information on Gallup's approach to Strengths, or to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder™ online, go to https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/