Strengths and Weaknesses

In class this week, I watched a video of a motivational speaker. I know, I know. All this hype, and an hour later, where does it leave you?
He was  challenging people to live to their fullest potential, and to live in a way that allows them to enjoy their life. Ok, pretty standard.
This was his main point: we all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. Duh. We all know that.
But wait for his definition of strengths and weaknesses:
Weaknesses are not necessarily things you are bad at. Yeah that's right. NO, he said that a weakness is anything you do that makes you feel weak after you do it. Maybe you work with people, you have outstanding customer service skills, and everybody admires you for the way you handle difficult situations. But if you leave those situations feeling weaker than when you began, that's a weakness.  He told a story of a swimmer who won numerous international titles and was extremely successful, yet hated swimming. Swimming was his weakness.
What about strengths then? That’s right, a strength is not necessarily something you are good at. Maybe you’ve killed every plant you’ve ever tried to grow but you love gardening. That’s a strength. Maybe you’ve never had a chance to act, but the idea of acting excites you. That would be a strength.
If we want to enjoy our lives, we need to focus on our strengths. Think of the most successful person you know. Just stop and think about them for a minute. Does that person spend the majority of their time on their strengths or their weaknesses? Their strengths! Successful, happy people focus on their strengths.

No matter what your job is, find out what strengths you can bring to it. If you focus on your strengths, you will succeed so well at what you do, your boss will have to re-write your job description to fit YOU!  

So, how are we supposed to know what our strengths and weakness are? Here’s what you need to do: for the next week, carry a little pad of paper and a pen with you wherever you go. Whenever you are looking ahead to an activity, and you get a little shiver of excitement about it, write it down. If you are in the middle of something, and you realize the time is speeding by, and you wish it could go on for longer, write it down. When you finish an activity and feel all pumped up and happy after, write it down. At the end of the week, look through the list you’ve written. These are your strengths. Then spend part of each day focusing on those things. If you realize you just love jogging, make sure you do that every day. If you found out you thrive on little social interactions, make sure you take time for those in your schedule. Whatever it is, capitalize on your strengths. You will be rewarded.

Well now what about your weaknesses? Obviously, you can’t just stop doing everything you dislike. We still need to go to work, take classes, look after our families, and take out the garbage. The point is, if there is a choice between book-keeping and customer service, choose the job you’ll thrive at, even if it doesn’t pay as well. Use your time wisely, and try to spend more time on the things you know are your strengths. If you are doing what you love, you will do such a good job, you will become far more successful than you could otherwise.

And my own thought is, yes there are some things you dislike, AND are terrible at. Sometimes it’s awfully good for our character to make ourselves do things that fit this description. But just take a look at what percentage of your time is spent on those things. I don’t believe it should be the majority.

So, take that pad of paper out and write stuff down. Even if it’s silly. Who knows, maybe you’ll be a motivational speaker some day!