Strengths Finder 2.0
I was recently introduced to Strengths Finder by a friend of mine. I hadn’t heard of it before, yet ironically not a week later it was mentioned in another book I was reading. Would I have even paid attention to the mention of it had I not already been introduced to it? I’ve no idea, it doesn’t matter I suppose – just curious.
I seem to go through phases where I am simply a sponge and want to soak up as much information as I can. Other times…not so much. This particular week though I was a sponge and probably soaked up 5 or more books: Strengths Finder was one of them, so I decided to review it for you just on the off chance that you too haven’t heard of it.
Strengths Finder is a pretty cool little book written by Tom Rath that includes a test that you can take to determine your Top 5 Strengths. The basic premise is that Talent * Investment = Strength but that most of us aren’t even aware of what our strengths are so we end up in the wrong job and ultimately unhappy in our life.
If you knew your strengths, however, you’d be able to focus on them instead of your weaknesses and thrive as opposed to continually working on your weaknesses (or working in an area that you are weak in) and feel like you are drowning or barely keeping your head above water.
What my friend pointed out to me that I found interesting and had to agree with was that humans tend to really focus on our weaknesses and try to improve THOSE rather than focusing on our strengths, which ultimately will take us farther in life and bring us far more happiness and feelings of accomplishment and self-worth.
If you don’t believe me…why don’t you list 5 of your weakness right now on a piece of paper, and then 5 of your strengths. Which ones came to you faster?
Personally, I know things that I’m good at – I would consider those my strengths…and when I took the test I was validated by the results but still had an AH-HA moment when I read the results.
Why?
Because what I noticed was that what most people (including psychologists I’d imagine) would consider a weakness for me, was actually a strength.
Take for example my Number #1 Strength: Strategic
Being strategic can be pretty cool. It helps me plan for things, helps me anticipate things and helps me foresee things that MIGHT happen so that if they do I already know what to do.
However, other people could see my strategic side as a weakness because they find me inflexible, a worrier, not spontaneous (although that last one is soooo not true). I actually recently have been able to find a usefulness for my strategic side while also being incredibly flexible and going with the flow. I have squelched the “worry” side of it and use it simply for practical means. And now that I know that it is actually a strength of mine, NOT a weakness, it helps me to know where to focus my energies and what kind of situations and/or jobs work the best for me.
Another example is my Number #2 Strength: Input
Input is the sponge side of me. It’s actually a great strength because it means I’m perfect for research and learning – which makes me a great resource. Being a teacher or coach works well for someone with an input strength.
The weakness that can be seen with someone with an input strength? Being a pack rat…you’ll have to get the book to read more about that one, I’m not going to go into it here 😛 but basically, I see value in things that others don’t, and hang on to them, knowing full well they might come in handy someday. Also, input doesn’t always mean output, so sometimes we soak up information and then if there is no outlet for it…well, you get the idea.
I think my favorite strength that I discovered (which deep down I already knew) was my fourth strength: Achiever
This strength is where I get my drive, the drive that most people don’t understand and often think I’m “crazy” because of. I accomplish things other people just simply wouldn’t, things they wouldn’t even try – it’s just who I am. But it makes me unique and able to tackle and do things that many others just wouldn’t, that is an incredible gift or strength to have and instead now of thinking I’m “crazy” because I am able to do these things, I know it’s because I am an achiever 🙂 and that is a strength not a weakness.
Should You Read It?
I would recommend this book to everyone because I think that it can really give you some insight into yourself. This can be a very valuable tool to have in all walks of life.
Whether you hate your job and you just don’t know what you want to do with your life or what would make you happy. Knowing your strengths would help align you to the perfect job that would put a smile on your face everyday.
Everyone is different, we all wouldn’t be happy in the same type of job. Some thrive on being at the top, others would stress out so much they’d likely die young.
It’s important to know where you are on the spectrum and if you really don’t know, then taking the Strengths Finder Quiz can help you determine that.
The test can also help you with your relationships. Knowing yourself better can help you find others who compliment your strengths – this applies to work relationships as well as personal ones.
I think the only bad thing about this book is that each book comes with only one access code, so you have to buy another book if you want someone else to take the test too (which generally you do, it’s fun to share the results and learn about each other.)
There are 34 Themes (strengths) total, and we all might have a little of everything in us, but this book will help you determine your Top 5 so that you can focus on those rather than your weaknesses. This will ultimately help you to thrive in whatever it is you do because you’ll be doing something that you are good at, something that makes you happy.
Spending any time and energy in this life doing something that doesn’t make you happy simply doesn’t make sense. Not when you have unique strengths that can contribute to the world and others around you.
Seeing someone doing something they love with a smile on their face brings far more joy and happiness to the world than seeing someone frowning and going through the motions just to “work” or “get it done” because they have to.
Believe it or not, but there is a perfect job or area of interest out there for you that you can do for a living that you would enjoy. If you aren’t already doing it, I highly recommend reading Strengths Finder 2.0 and taking the test.
Please contact me after you’ve done so and we can discuss your results (for fun or if you need help figuring out where to go from there.) If you are currently in a job that isn’t making you happy, I’m sure we can figure out one that will 🙂
Your Friend,
Kat
NurturingYourBody.com
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