Maximizing Our Strengths
This is just one of the many concepts that stood out for me in this book by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, because I believe it has the power to help us make more purposeful choices with respect to where we focus our energy and attention. In other words, rather than using our fear to identify our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to “fix them,” these authors suggest we instead focus on maximizing our strengths.
Unfortunately this is not how most of us were taught to “improve.” When, as children, we came home with “A’s” in most of our subjects but a “B” (or God forbid a “C”) in some academic area in which we weren’t naturally talented, most of our parents paid little attention to our successes and instead focused on “the problem.”
While I’m not saying that we shouldn’t try to improve in those areas in which we seem to be underperforming, I am suggesting that spending too much time in this area (and therefore not enough time on maximizing our strengths) has proven to be a less than effective road to success, and this isn’t just me saying this. The Gallup organization, after interviewing over 2 million successful individuals, has determined that maximizing our strengths is a much more successful strategy for success and happiness, and has created a methodology bringing this philosophy to life. It’s called the “Strengthsfinder,” and I encourage you to check it out.
In the meantime, however, I encourage you to notice where you are spending your time, where your energy is focused, and how this allocation of time and energy is working for you. It’s like a gardener using the precious amount of water they have to water the weeds… what we focus on grows, and when we focus on our weaknesses and the fear of what will happen if we don’t correct them, then these problems will dominate our awareness and block our ability to succeed by doing those things at which we are naturally good.
Take Albert Einstein, for example. He was someone who didn’t do particularly well in a traditional school setting that is designed to produce “well-rounded” students. However, rather than seeing this as what was wrong with him, he had the insight to pursue those areas in which he was strong… and the rest is history.
Therefore, if you find yourself feeling frustrated because you are spending way too much time focusing on your weaknesses, I encourage you to do some research on the philosophy of maximizing your strengths. Or, as the good Dr. Einstein said, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Don’t live your life thinking you are “less than” because of a belief that you should learn to do everything well. Instead, go discover your strengths, and focus your energy on maximizing them. Your life will be happier and the world will be a better place as a result.
~ All the best, Dr. Bill