I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the very things that make us who we are, the strengths that come most natural to us can also be the things that overwhelm us, drain us, or push us into cycles we don’t even realize we’re repeating. Every strength has two sides. There are parts of each one that lift you, energize you, and move you forward and there are parts that tug at you, drain you, or make life a little more complicated.

Our strengths come naturally to us, yes but that doesn’t mean they’re effortless. It just means we use them without thinking. And when we use anything without thinking, we can slip into the version of it that creates stress instead of clarity.

Here’s an example of how my drive, drives me nuts when I stop using them intentionally and let them show up without thinking.

Ideation shows up first.
Not in a “ten ideas at once” way. More like: one idea hits and I’m all in. I’m energized. I can see the potential. My brain lights up. I start building it out mentally, emotionally, sometimes even physically. And then, almost on cue another idea shows up that feels more exciting, more aligned, or more possible. Suddenly, the first idea loses its shine.

I’m off chasing the new spark, the new rush, the new possibility. It’s not necessarily scattered thinking, it’s chasing the dopamine of a fresh idea. And it keeps me moving forward but it also keeps me starting over.

Then Adaptability joins the party.
I crave change. I crave movement. I crave flexibility. Routine feels restrictive, but that same flexibility can make it hard to stick with anything long enough to get the fulfillment I’m looking for. Boredom hits fast, so I pivot fast. I tell myself it’s intuition, sometimes it is, sometimes it’s just restlessness.

Maximizer adds its voice.
And when I do make progress, I immediately see what could be better. What could be tweaked. What could be improved.
Satisfaction becomes a moving target I rarely reach. Progress doesn’t feel like progress if my brain can immediately imagine a “better version.”

And when those three strengths collide?

I slip straight into Restorative.

But before I focus on fixing the problem, I can get caught up in ruminating end up fixating on it instead, especially when I can’t pinpoint the root of it. I loop. I stew. I get negative. I focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing, what isn’t working, and I stay there until a new idea pops in and Ideation drags me back up again, and the whole cycle repeats.

And when I’m really drained?

Bottom Competition kicks in.
I compare my timing, progress, income, life, everything to everyone else’s highlight reels. And of course, those comparisons are never fair, never grounded, and never helpful. They just reinforce “not enough.”

I’m sharing this because I know I’m not the only one who rides this internal cycle. No matter what your strengths are, no matter what your loop looks like, we all are prone to our drive, driving us nuts.

We want. We desire. We work. But when things don’t go as we envisioned, we often spiral.

But here’s what I’m learning:

The goal isn’t to shut these parts of myself down. The goal is to understand them, catch the pattern sooner, and interrupt the loop with a little more compassion and a lot less judgment.

My drive is part of me. And yes, sometimes it absolutely drives me nuts. But it’s also what makes me capable of everything I’ve built, everything I teach, and everything I’m determined to create and because I understand it, I accept it and embrace it while learning how to manage it so I feel empowered by it.

If your strengths ever feel like both your superpower and your stressor, you’re not alone.

What parts of your drive tend to drive you nuts?