Wednesday I talked about the concept of appreciative inquiry; recognizing one's strengths, building on those strengths and going forward in life. And as much time as I have ruminated on this idea I need to actually do it- I need to go ahead and name it.

Today, I am going to take time to put pen to paper (or type to the computer screen) and list out my strengths. If you have trouble naming characteristics you might want to check out various websites and complete the different psychological tests. Or, just read some of the descriptions to give you some context and descriptions.

Be completely honest with yourself. This is not the time for false pride nor for a "aw shucks" false humility. Think about the complements that you have received over the years. Sometimes we don't see our strengths but others do. If it is hard to get started, think of yourself in smaller terms:

Mind- What type of learning do you like? Are you a numbers person or do you need to see things through pictures?
Body- What area of your physical features do you like? Your hair, your eyes, etc.?
Soul- What areas bring you joy? What activities make you lose your sense of time because you are so enthralled?
Work- In what kind of environment do you thrive? Working in groups, individually, structured, free-form? Working indoors, outdoors, on the road?
Relational- Do you get energy from being with people or being by yourself? Do you love to entertain? Are you better communicating verbally or on "paper"?

Knowing my nature, I will probably resort back to some type of self-improvement even with those items identified as strengths as I am always leaving room for improvement. Yet, I do want to concentrate on the strengths first. For instance, I have discovered what my strengths are in my writing and I am only going to concentrate on that for now. I'll be interested to see how far I journey with that.

What about you? Do you know your strengths? If not, will you go ahead and name it?

Have you ever been in one place, say a meeting with a specific purpose, and something will be said that causes you to have a "Eureka!" moment? It is some statement or idea that transcends the immediate reason for the gathering and can be applied to other aspects of your life.

Such was the case for me recently. I was at a church meeting and the activity at hand was to look at the church's strengths and how that would determine its future. We were doing a process called "appreciative inquiry". As they briefly explained the theory and rationale behind the process I was struck with how much the process would help not just a group but an individual.

The idea is that the group reflects and discovers the strengths of the organization and then through a series of questions, begin to dream and design a future based on those strengths. A group is cautioned that a fixation on organizational weaknesses doesn't move the organization into the future. While that may be beneficial at some point, the purpose of dreaming and vision casting should be based on its strengths.

I wonder if our societal tendency to navel gaze and self-help would be better served if we concentrate on our individual strengths rather than improvement of our weaknesses? It makes me think of the French women philosophy of accepting their physical flaws and concentrating on showcasing their positive physical features.

I am thinking of all the times that I have made my "self-improvement" lists. Mostly they are comprised of physical defects (plan to tone up the upper arms), unwanted behavior (eat more slowly) or character flaws (be more assertive with certain family members) that I want to correct. I think most people have some type of thoughts of self-improvement whether or not you actually list them. If you think you don't have these lists, think to Bridget Jones' diary. One of the reasons readers loved Bridget was that they could relate to her continual attempt at self-improvement. "Reduce amount of cigarettes. Must reduce consumption of alcohol. Don't shag strangers or wait until sober, no matter how ding-dong gorgeous the gentleman may be".

In some ways I think I have wasted way too much energy and time on trying to improve the negative instead of using my time and effort on expanding and improving the strengths. Just think how much farther down life's journey I would be and how much further I would be towards reaching my goals if I didn't worry about and try to correct past items and encounters. Where would I be if I didn't get stuck trying to "fix" something that may never be completely fixed?

It is similar to how I view our house. I think I can be so critical of our house, that I am spending so much time on painting and repairing it to the point that I forget to sit and enjoy the beautiful garden spaces that we have. I can do the same thing with myself and then I wonder why I am stuck and why can't I move forward?

My plan for this year is to focus on the strengths. Embrace it. Don't fight it. And let the weaknesses fall by the wayside.

What would that look like for you? Do you focus on your strengths or weaknesses?

Go Ahead. Name It.

Future Strength