Discover and live your strengths

The origin of the word "strength" comes from the Latin word "fortis" which means strong. Personal strengths are understood as the set of skills, characteristics or psychological or attitudinal aspects in which we excel and which represent some kind of virtue or adaptive advantage. They energise us and make us feel strong.

For a characteristic to be considerable as a personal strength it must be cross-culturally recognisable as something positive and desirable, valued for its own sake and not just for its results. They are often linked to virtually universal values and can even be related to virtues.

What is important is that, like values, they contribute to generating and maintaining personal satisfaction and well-being.

"We are all geniuses, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees, you will think it is useless. -Albert Einstein

Myths and truths

Here are three myths and three truths to reflect on strengths and weaknesses.

• As you get older your personality changes.
• You can develop more in areas related to your weaknesses.
• A good team member does whatever it takes to help his or her team.

Were the first three sentences truths or myths? And what about these?

• As you grow, you develop and become more of who you already are.
• The areas in which you can develop yourself the most are related to your strengths.
• A good team member deliberately offers his or her strengths in the service of the team.

Strengths tests

I recommend 2 tests that allow you to quickly identify your strengths online. Moreover, due to the current situation, these tests can be taken free of charge. One is the DISC and the other is the StandOut. Here I explain them briefly:

DISC: The DISC test is an assessment that measures people's behaviour and emotions in terms of four dimensions of personality. It is based on the work of psychologist William Marston, and is named after its acronym: 

Dominance, Influence, Stability and Compliance .

Dominance: Measures how the person responds to problems and challenges. Action-oriented behaviour, quick problem solving, decision making and risk taking.

Influence: Measures how you relate to and influence other people. People-oriented behaviour, interaction, interpersonal relationships.

eStability: Measures how you respond to changes and the pace of the environment. Behaviour aimed at maintaining balance, harmony and the status quo in a secure environment.

Compliance: Measures how you respond to the rules and procedures established by others. Behaviours oriented to the investigation of data and information, to the quality of one's own and others' performance.

There are no better or worse results, it is a matter of identifying your strengths and orienting yourself professionally in that direction. For each profile, it will be easier to work in a job with similar characteristics and very difficult to work in a role that requires characteristics of the opposite profile. Not because you can't do it, but because it will generate stress in the long run. We all have our nature, the more we are aligned with it, the better the results will be and the better we will feel.

Currently this test can be taken free of charge online (in English) from the Tonny Robbins website and on this website in Spanish.

STAND OUT:

This test obtains, through a questionnaire, by analysing your impulsive and instinctive responses, your natural tendency towards two of the 9 roles. We all use the 9 new roles and there are no better or worse ones, there are simply two that we carry in our DNA, they energise us and we are naturally better at them. Stand Out is a predictor of job performance, and is very useful to guide you in your career and help you thrive.

StandOut offers practical advice on how to maximise your strengths, from your 2 dominant roles, including:

• Your ideal profession
• How you can make an immediate impact and take your performance to the next level
• How you can succeed as a leader, manager, in sales or as an individual contributor.

Currently this test, whose report is about 17 pages long, can be taken free of charge online, in all languages, from the website of one of its creators Marcus Buckingham.

Here is an example where you can see the roles of strengths in order of importance:

If you have any questions about these tests, or would like to arrange a session to review the results, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Live your strengths

Now that you have identified your strengths, the next step is for you to reflect and take action:

• From 1-10, to what extent are you using your strengths on a day-to-day basis in your life?
• What is it that you are doing in your life that weakens you, that does not motivate you?
• Can you delegate it, stop doing it and invest this time to use your strengths more?
• Where and how can you use your strengths the most?

Strengths are like values, they point you in the direction of your success and well-being. So the more aligned you are with them, the better your results will be.

In conclusion, develop, train and improve skills related to your strengths. Use them frequently, daily if possible. Discuss and share them with the people around you. Integrate them and become aware of this difference, with which you make a difference.

Currently, according to studies, only 2 out of 10 people use their strengths every day. Be one of them.

If you found the post interesting, please like or share it below so that your contacts can also benefit.

Thank you for your support!