Affirming Your Life
“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Anonymous
Affirmation: Today in meditation, I will contemplate my strengths, and ask for divine guidance in how best to use them in every area of my life.
A corporation in southern California required its executives to participate in a team building exercise . Each of the women and men had previously completed a questionnaire designed to reveal their individual strengths and personality types. The 28 executives were then grouped according to type. Each group had 15 minutes to create a brief presentation illustrating their particular skill set.
The resulting controlled chaos was simultaneously hilarious and revealing. The “Duty Fulfillers” were eager to complete the assignment, but weren’t able to generate creative ideas. “Nurturers” attempted to support and encourage each other, but weren’t effective at coming up with a specific plan. The “Artists” sketched out striking illustrations, but none of the ideas were interconnected. Meanwhile, the “Visionaries” came up with lots of great ideas, but failed to reach a consensus on the best way to present them. None of the 16 types was able to complete the assignment satisfactorily.
While each of the groups had very specific strengths, it became quite evident to the entire team that no single isolated set of skills was sufficient to satisfactorily complete the task. An effective group blends the various strengths and skills of each member to envision, work towards and maintain the collective goals.
While the old business paradigm might have focused on identifying and attempting to fix employees’ weaknesses, the emphasis has changed to accentuating the positive. Companies that discover and nurture each person’s strengths enjoy more productivity, satisfied customers and profitability, while also experiencing less employee turnover.
Realistically, no one is excellent in everything. Identifying your personal skill set can help you both personally and professionally. It will make you a happier and more self-confident person as you build on those strengths, achieving even higher levels of success and spiritual awareness. As you continue to excel, you can inspire and mentor others with similar strengths.
To determine your personal strengths, take time to meditate on what makes you happy, and when you feel most fulfilled. Ask a few trusted friends for their opinion. Reflect on what you feel have been your greatest accomplishments to date. You can also take one of many on-line assessments. The University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center offers an excellent free questionnaire allowing you to learn your strengths, values, level of happiness and many other categories. https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/home
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