Did you know that hidden within every strength, there lies your weakness? Or you can look at it the other way and within every weakness, discover your strength. When I performed this exercise, I found it to be very eye opening. Read through the list below and write down the numbers to the strengths you think you possess. Be honest with yourself. No one is going to see this but you and the more honest you are, the more you will gain.
1) Creative
2) Organized
3) Dedicated
4) Flexible
5) Enthusiastic
6) Calm
7) Reflective
8) Adventurous
9) Responsible
10) Positive
11) Realistic
12) Assertive
13) Humble
14) Self-Confident
15) Patient
16) Passionate
Now do the same thing with this list:
1) Disorganized
2) Inflexible
3) Stubborn
4) Inconsistent
5) Obnoxious
6) Emotionless
7) Shy
8) Irresponsible
9) Unrealistic
10) Negative
11) Negative
12) Intimidating
13) Weak
14) Arrogant
15) Indecisive
16) Impatient
The first tier of this exercise is to see which ones match up. Look at both lists of numbers and write down only the ones that were the same from both lists. For example, if you wrote down number 9 from both lists, you already know that your strength is being responsible. And you also know that you are boring, your weakness. The thing I love about this exercise is it reveals that sometimes it is okay to have weaknesses. Next time someone tells me I am boring, I will know that with that comes being responsible. And on the flip side, if I am being adventurous, I now know that my weakness at the moment is being irresponsible. This knowledge will help me to step back and make sure I am not doing something stupid in the moment.
The second tier in this lesson is to look back over both lists. Locate the numbers you wrote down and match them up with the correlating strength/weakness. Write the following sentence and fill in the blanks for each number you wrote down. “When I am _______, I am _______.” For example, if you wrote number 7 from the strengths list you would write, “When I am reflective, I am shy.” Or, “When I am shy, I am reflective.” Here is the list of the strengths/weaknesses:
1) Creative — Disorganized
2) Organized — Inflexible
3) Dedicated — Stubborn
4) Flexible — Inconsistant
5) Enthusiastic — Obnoxious
6) Calm — Emotionless
7) Reflective — Shy
8) Adventurous — Irresponsible
9) Responsible — Boring
10) Positive — Unrealistic
11) Realistic — Negative
12) Assertive — Intimidating
13) Humble — Weak
14) Self-Confident — Arrogant
15) Patient — Indecisive
16) Passionate — Impatient
Through analyzing our strengths and weaknesses, we learn more about who we are and why we do the things we do. This can also helps us understand why others do what they do, which can be a tremendous help in the work place as well as in our personal lives.
Shannon Vaut 