Strengths Spectrum

We all have innate strengths that point us to our skills, characteristics, or talents. Maybe these strengths were brought to your attention when you were younger or something you feel yourself gravitate towards naturally. 

There are areas where our strengths are a superpower or where they can hinder us. Let’s say, for example, you are detail-oriented and analytical. At work, this might be a strength because your coworkers know you are reliable and thorough. On the other hand, if you are overanalyzing or reading into small details in conversations with friends or partners you could end up reading too far into something and make inaccurate assumptions about what someone is trying to share with us. Another example might come along with being highly empathetic towards others. When empathy is your strength it’s likely that the people in your life feel deeply understood and cared for by you because you find it easy to attune to their moods and emotions. This strength becomes less helpful for us when we put the moods and emotions of others before our own. While we want to gift our strengths to those around us we must be mindful that it isn’t coming at a detriment to our wellbeing.

The above is an example of how we can look at our strengths on a spectrum ranging from effective to ineffective or helpful versus unhelpful. If we can think about our strengths this way we will have a better understanding of when we can draw from them to help us bolster our efforts or when we need to approach a situation differently. 

We can use a similar approach to explore our “weaknesses” or growth areas. In the same way that our strengths can span the spectrum of being helpful and unhelpful, so can our “weaknesses”. I use quotation marks here intentionally because weakness typically implies that there is something bad or wrong with this quality about ourselves. But often, this is a limiting view of these areas that we consider our shortcomings. We can take the same approach to see our “weaknesses” through a lens of self-compassion. For example, if you are quieter, you may judge yourself for not being more outgoing or “extroverted”. Maybe this is an area that you don’t feel quite satisfied with but, it might also be a reason why your loved ones see you as being a good listener and thoughtful with your words.  

Want to give this a try? Spend some time getting more acquainted with your strengths and think about when they are most useful versus least useful. Then do the inverse by considering times when your “weaknesses” can be of benefit or why they might be there in the first place. Different phases of our lives can (and will) accentuate different strengths and growth areas. We can practice getting better acquainted with these parts of ourselves as an ongoing practice in building our self-understanding.