If you asked me to share with you my weaknesses, I could list them off like an auctioneer at a cattle sale. I can relate to David, el hombre who killed Goliath when he wrote, "My sin is always before me." This is probably not unique to me.
Seven of the twelve steps deals specifically with our weaknesses or "character defects."
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Our society focuses on weaknesses, mistakes, sins, -- basically the negative. When was the last time you heard a report of something positive?
Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D., authored the book, NOW, Discover Your Strengths, based on the research by the Gallup Organization. The thesis of the book is that building on your talents and strengths will have a more positive affect than trying to eliminate weakness.
I took the Strengthsfinder assessment created by the Gallup Organization. The assessment gives you your top five strengths. The authors refer to these as themes. My top five strengths, with a brief description, are:
Relator
People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
Restorative
People who are strong in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. That are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.
Intellection
People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.
Empathy
People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations.
Includer
People strong in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.
There are a total of 38 strengths. For more information go to www.strengthsfinder.com
What can I do to capitalize on these strengths?
4 comments:
Have you ever gone through the Experiencing God program? It was all the rage a few years back, but there's something interesting in it that stuck with me. It was about trying to notice what God is doing, and joining God's work. (As opposed to saying, "What should I do for God today?" I'm not saying that's what you are doing...) It sounds simple, but it was revolutionary to me.
:)
Yes, I have worked through Experiencing God and led a group throught it also. "What is God doing?" is a great question. I haven't thought about it in awhile.
Thank you for reminding!
You sound like you would be a great event planner or group leader. You could also get into group counseling or just facilitating small group time.
Also, if you are patient as well, perhaps leading a youth group? I could never do it.
What a great concept. We are all in tune with our weaknesses but it is hard to recognize our own strenghts or to know how to capitalize on them.
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