Know Thyself

What are your strengths? How do you make decisions? What motivates you? Do these questions sound familiar to you? If so, then you may know why I ask these questions. If not, then I will fill you in. At job interviews, on dates, and others occasions that require you to answer these questions, we, as a society, may spend ample time trying to figure out the answers. It should be the easiest question, but it seems like people struggle to find the words.

Why do people struggle? To be honest, I don't have a definitive answer. However, I do know one thing. Why do you think people value critical and analytical thinking skills?! Many people have a difficult time figuring out something when it's not obvious. It must be spelled out; the guess work must go away.

Think about it, if the words were written out, in front of people, to describe who they are, then it would make sense. Those words would somehow resonate meaning would be developed. How does this happen? Do you ask someone else to describe you? Perhaps, but you may not like what you hear. You may get the wrong answer and develop thoughts that aren't true to you.

Recently, I've clicked away to the path of self-discovery. I was tired of trying to figure out who I am and getting no where. After hours of clicking, I have seen assessment tools that tried to tell me who I am, but I still wasn't satisfied.What I needed were assessment tools to help me figure out my natural, innate strengths. This is not to be confused with perceived strengths that society dictates. When you know your strengths, you develop a deeper understanding of you, how you lead, and make decisions.

There are two assessments I highly recommend. The first one is an activity that comes out of Jay Niblick's book titled What's Your Genius? In this book, he will coach you on finding your natural talents. There's a series of activities that you will complete online. After completing these, you will use them to progress through the book. I think all activities are important, but the one I was most impressed with was number three. Once you complete it, you should receive the results in two weeks. http://workbook.whatsyourgenius.com/users/login Click on the link, create a free account, and you will have access to the activities.

The other assessment tool I recommend is this: http://freestrengthsfinder.workuno.com/1-free-strengthsfinder-test.html This assessment tool will assess you based on 34 different natural, innate strengths. After you complete it, the results will be available right away. the 34 strengths will be listed in your best order.

After completing these assessments, you may be wondering what the next step is. After you receive your results, take a good look at your entire life. Look at every job you've held, every leadership opportunity, family dynamics, etc. Based on your strengths, you will see a pattern. Once the pattern becomes obvious, you will be able to start focusing your entire life on your strengths and not rely on events that require you to use your weaknesses.