Taking Control of Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Have you ever been asked “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and been completely stumped on how to answer? If so, then it is time to start taking control and understanding the ins and outs of your strengths and weaknesses. By taking the time to learn about yourself you will in turn become more balanced and focused.
If you are in the dark I would suggest looking deep into yourself, like Shrek says, peel back the layers of the onion! Throughout your life you have been developing strengths, those things you are good at and like to do, and uncovering weaknesses. Through the people we interact most with we become more aware of these aspects in our lives. The best way to discover yourself, to discover what you really bring to the table is to remove yourself from your ordinary setting and place yourself in the middle of a new one. When you get too comfortable in your all too familiar setting it can easily limit growth. It’s harder to embrace change because you don’t want to get out of your comfortable box. So try it, think of something you would never imagine doing and just go for it. You will test your assumptions of your strengths and weaknesses.
So let’s get into strengths. What is a strength exactly? A strength varies from each individual, for me my strength is speaking in front of large groups and for you, it may be communication skills, organizational skills or even your ability to be a team player. It is important to recognize that we do not do everything perfect, we all have our flaws, so knowing what you are good at and what you need to improve on are critical in your personal and professional life. Acknowledging your weaknesses is one of the most difficult things to do but imperative to your overall success. No one wants to admit that they have weak points, especially if you work on a team. On a team we don’t all share the same strengths and weaknesses. That would be foolish. We balance each other and the team out through all differences. Let’s look at an example, you are participating in a group project for work and jobs must be designated, you scan the list and see strengths on there that get you really excited and some of your weaknesses pop up that scare you away. Immediately admit to the group your strengths and weaknesses. Who cares if you don’t have the creative eye for design or the ability to program, do what fits best to your personality. Tell the group what you are strong in and tell them what you are weak in, and ask for help with your weaknesses, so that you may gain knowledge and understanding. Life is too short to fear opportunities so give it your all in the moment.
It’s now the moment of truth, self-reflection. No, I don’t mean go stand in front of a mirror, hum and haw and decide upon your strengths and weaknesses. I want you to grab a pen and paper and draw a line right down the middle of it. On one side write My Strengths and on the other write My Weaknesses. Now there’s no time limit on this, write down all of your strengths that come to mind, don’t hesitate and then write all of your weaknesses down.
All finished? Alright, let’s keep going!
Review the strengths you put down and embrace them. Then take a look at your weaknesses and branch out indicating what the positive aspect is of those weaknesses. Instead of focusing on the negative side to the weakness you are now accepting you have faults but are planning to improve. If you want to really get creative, write all of your points for strengths and weaknesses on post it notes and put them somewhere you will see every day, around a mirror, on a fridge, on your desk. Review and chase one weakness and decide how you plan to strengthen it that day.
A final thought. Think about a mountain, a great big snowy mountain surrounded by a crisp beautiful lake. When you look into that lake you see the reflection of the mountain, it’s so clear that you get mixed up, because the reflection could be the real deal. Wouldn’t it be amazing if our reflection in our life mirror was this clear? No ambiguity, just clarity.
It all begins with you. So get started!
