Star Side, Shadow Side
I strongly believe that all people bring value to the table. I call this our star side. This is what shines the brightest within us. In my experience, we also have a corresponding shadow side. These are the things that we struggle with that have the potential to drag down our star side. I want to introduce to you the concept of "star side, shadow side" and how it affects me as an entrepreneur and a person.
What is Your Star Side?
In my opinion, your star side is the things that you really enjoy and are good at. For instance, I am an extrovert. This is my star side. I love speaking and talking with other people. It is one of my strengths. I could do it all day, every day and it doesn't exhaust me. Do you always love your star side? For me, the answer is yes. I believe that you may not necessarily love every minute of it, but at the end of the day, you are fulfilled by it.
I strongly believe that everyone has a star side and everyone shines bright in a different way. It is a good thing that we are all different because all of our strengths paint an entire picture.
What is Your Shadow Side?
I view the opposite of my star side as my shadow side. These are the things that you are not as good at or simply do not enjoy. For me, I am not organized at all and don't aspire to be. It is a fact that I miss things and talk over people. I'm also a project starter but not a project finisher. This is my shadow side.
It is important to note that I believe people have multiple star sides and shadow sides. In other words, there are multiple things you are good at, just as there are multiple things that aren't your strong suit.
Do Not Let Shadow Sides Stop Your Star Side from Shining
I often witness people who see all the things they can't do, instead of all the things they can, so they stop shining. I believe in getting support for your shadow sides so that you don't lose your shine. I look at 3 categories when deciding how to delegate.
What is my star side? What are the things on my list that I absolutely love doing and could do all day, every day?
What are the tasks on my list I hate? These are the tasks that I could never see again and it would be too soon.
What are the tasks that fall in the realm in between? I'm a team player, so these are the things that I don't hate, but I don't love either.
I choose to first deal with the tasks that are the bane of my existence. There are two ways I do this. The first is to delegate tasks. This may be by hiring new people, automation, etc. The second way is to get rid of it altogether. Your company doesn't have to do it all. I learned this first hand. My company used to do it all. The problem is that we weren't doing anything well. Now, we mainly do brand strategy. We do a limited amount of development for clients, but not much at all.
In my experience, the one thing we do not do well feels like a million things and outweighs everything that we do so well. When we get support for our shadow side, we allow our star side to shine!
