The next questions might be, “What are my Signature Strengths? How do I find them? How do I engage and express them?
Your signature strengths are those that best describe the core aspects of you who you are.
Do you find that your everyday journey is easy, fun and rewarding? Or is it tiring, leaving you feeling frustrated at the end of the day.
I spent most of my younger life feeling guilty before I closed my eyes at night, never having the satisfaction that I had done all of my “to do list.” What was missing was that I had not been introduced to the magic tool box that each of us are born with, our “inner signature strengths.”
Signature strengths are the things we like doing and come naturally to us to execute. We find more happiness in our life if it is aligned with our signature strengths.
For example, I love creating a mosaic picture in my garden with colorful flowers. I can happily spend hours in my garden forgetting to eat lunch and knowing that my muscles will be aching tomorrow.
The end results of my labor and creativity excites me. But a constrained job as an accountant on a secretary sitting at a desk all day would leave me feeling tired and unfulfilled.
As I mentioned, your signature strengths are given to you at birth. These strengths are the strong nudges you get when you are engaged in a task that you enjoy. They are the ones that are energizing and comfortable to use. Your friends and family would agree that these are definitely “you.” These are already pathways in your brain that you were born with or might have been evident when you were a child. Some of these signature strengths might be latent; however it is still within you.
Discovering your 24 signature strengths by taking your personal strengths assessment will benefit your efforts in achievement and create your best life.
When you learn to engage your strengths, you will feel as if you have more energy available to you.
People using their signature strengths find that they have more energy and excitement in their life.
They feel that they are being “real.” They are being the person they want to be, not the person someone else wants them to be.
My top signature strengths are:
Woo
Woo stands for winning others over. I enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting to know them.
Learner
I love to learn. I never was interested in learning when I was younger. Now it is exciting to learn new things.
Responsibility
I feel a strong responsibility to show up and deliver what I promised.
Activator
I know I will not be judged by what I say or what I think, but what I get done.
How can you use your discoveries in achieving your personal goals?
There is a natural progression that you may follow:
Take the Strengths Based Survey to determine your order of signature strengths.
“You will find information on how to access the survey and ways to learn about your personal strengths here:
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Joci James, Life Strengths Detective