The book discusses how much better people thrive in life and in their jobs when their strengths are being focused on. People do well and grow when they are able to do a job that suites what you are naturally gifted toward--even your weaknesses become stronger when you are focusing on your strengths. How true this I have found this to be in my own life.
I have been thinking about strengths a lot since returning from Christmas break. I am living in a house full of messy people. The youth here are troubled. The Bigs all have their issues as well, myself included. As I look at my co-workers, I truly love each and every one of them and can list off several strengths they have and all they add to the house. At the same time, I can look at them and see their flaws and the areas where they could grow. However, even with their flaws, I think...They are so beautiful! So and So is so incredible. WOW. I believe this is the first time in my life where I have been able to be really honest about another person's weaknesses/flaws/whatever you want to call it and be overwhelmed by the beauty in that person and appreciate them, flaws and all.
This is probably the first time in my life as well that I can actually see how God can look at me, with my weaknesses, and see a beautiful person that He just loves. I am starting to understand this concept at a heart level. I have known it in my head for awhile--but I am grasping this a much deeper level. The Lord has been working on this for years--I am a little dense at time...but I feel like I am starting to grasp it. It's exciting stuff.
I have thinking a lot about the Littles and their strengths. In general, I don't believe that I have that gift to really see people for their full potential. I do to a certain degree. If I didn't, then teaching would be extremely discouraging. However, it is something I really work at and consistently seek the Lord about for revelation on. Here it can be easy to just look at the Littles and see their weaknesses. The Lord has been challenging me to consider if I am encouraging them in their strengths. Yes, I do a lot of things to help them grow in areas of weakness, but I am equally if not more so encouraging them in their strengths? Do I even see their strengths? I don't like the answer I get to these questions. I have really been seeking the Lord and asking Him to help me to see those strengths He has placed in each Little and to encourage them in those things more.
In case you are curious, I just found the e-mail I received after taking the personality test telling me my top 5 strengths. Each strength includes a short description below it. There are 32 different possible strengths. The book describes all 32 strengths. This test pretty much nailed me. Below are my top five strengths according to the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test.
Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by "every day" you mean every single day--workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.
Responsibility
Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.
Consistency
Balance is important to you. You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life, so you do not want to see the scales tipped too far in any one person’s favor. In your view this leads to selfishness and individualism. It leads to a world where some people gain an unfair advantage because of their connections or their background or their greasing of the wheels. This is truly offensive to you. You see yourself as a guardian against it. In direct contrast to this world of special favors, you believe that people function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally. This is an environment where people know what is expected. It is predictable and evenhanded. It is fair. Here each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.
Learner
You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”
Arranger
You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible. In your mind there is nothing special about what you are doing. You are simply trying to figure out the best way to get things done. But others, lacking this theme, will be in awe of your ability. “How can you keep so many things in your head at once?” they will ask. “How can you stay so flexible, so willing to shelve well-laid plans in favor of some brand-new configuration that has just occurred to you?” But you cannot imagine behaving in any other way. You are a shining example of effective flexibility, whether you are changing travel schedules at the last minute because a better fare has popped up or mulling over just the right combination of people and resources to accomplish a new project. From the mundane to the complex, you are always looking for the perfect configuration. Of course, you are at your best in dynamic situations. Confronted with the unexpected, some complain that plans devised with such care cannot be changed, while others take refuge in the existing rules or procedures. You don’t do either. Instead, you jump into the confusion, devising new options, hunting for new paths of least resistance, and figuring out new partnerships—because, after all, there might just be a better way.
We all have our strengths. These are some of mine. My strengths can com alongside another person's weaknesses and visa verse. That is why there is a body of Christ--we need each other. Together, when we are working alongside each other in love, the body functions well. It doesn't work so well when we try to do it all ourselves, fail to see our need for others, or fail to see others need for us. Are you walking in your strength? Are sharing your talents with others? I you allowing others to meet your weaknesses with their strengths? All good contemplations.
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