I remember conversing with my former boss, who recommended me for a job that did not match my qualifications. She said I don’t see myself as others see me or how she sees me. I initially thought it was a good complement that implied not being bothered by how others perceived me, but she pointed out that I water down my capabilities. Not being sure of my abilities, the value I offered scared me from doing many things.

Sometimes, you strive for perfection, and in the process, every imperfection you observe limits you and prevents you from giving much more of what you are capable of doing. Learn through your mistakes and wins.

The first step to defining or redefining your value proposition is understanding yourself, your acquired skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Itemize what you think you are good at, then ask a few honest people for their candid opinions about your abilities and skill set. Ensure these people won’t talk you down but rather offer honest criticism in the most uplifting ways. Then match up what you think and what they think, check for similarities and differences. The differences could be what they know that you are good at that you have no idea about because you have not been paying enough attention to yourself or areas that needs improvement.

Analyze your results, begin to identify opportunities and make good use of them to achieve much more of who you want to be.