Strengthsfinder 2.0

Strengthsfinder 2.0 argues that we should forget about fixing our weaknesses, and go all in on our strengths instead, by showing you ways to figure out which 5 key strengths are an innate part of you and giving you advice on how to use them in your life and work.

This point wasn’t particularly outlined in a specific blink, but I thought it’s definitely worth emphasizing again. Yes, we all have bad habits we want to break, and sometimes, this is necessary. But more often than now, we spend way too much time ironing out the wrinkles in our shirts and fixing every little chink in our armor, instead of doing what we’re already good at.

If you suck at sports and just don’t enjoy going to the gym, then why the hell force yourself to go there 3 times a week? Do the minimum that’s good for you and take an extended walk outside each day – those 10,000 steps will get you 80% of the way there.

Then, spend the rest of the day and additional time reading, if you’re really good at that and can absorb information like a sponge. Focusing on your strengths is also the way to winning at work.

Tom identified 34 characteristic strengths and in the book helps you match yours with his findings, so you can figure out which ones dominate your life. Knowing whether you need to be in charge to thrive, play a supporting role, work for yourself or be friends with everyone is the only way to excel.

Of course I can’t outline all 34 strengths here (neither do the blinks), but we can at least take a peek at some of the most important ones. Let’s start with Believers. A Believer is someone who can’t separate motivation from belief. If you pick English as your major in college, but can’t even get out of bed for the first semester, because you see no sense in studying Shakespeare’s texts, then chances are you not only need a change, but also must find something you believe in so strongly that it’ll become your reason for waking up. But beliefs are so subjective and individual that it’s often hard for Believers to find an organization that’s exactly in line with their core values – so they end up starting their own. Once they do, a Futurist will make a great co-founder. Futurists aren’t tied down by the rules and can see beyond what most people think is possible. They create their own vision of the future and paint pictures so vivid they inspire the people they lead to deliver their best work and change for the better. When a Believer comes…