Embracing our strengths

Question: If your teenager comes home with their report card and gets an A in English, an A in History, and a D in Chemistry, what grade would be discussed the most?

This scenario, typical for many teenagers, was discussed at a Strengths Finder half-day seminar I attended at my church a few weekends ago. Most people answered that they would discuss the "D" grade the most, since this is obviously an area where their child has the most room for improvement. Or is it?

For those of you that haven't heard of Strengths Finder, I strongly suggest to buy the book on Amazon or at a local bookstore and complete the test. During the seminar, the speaker discussed the concept of shifting from a weakness-based to a strengths-based paradigm. This means understanding that no matter how hard we try, we will always be weak in certain areas and instead we should focus on developing the natural talents and skills that we have to achieve fulfillment in whatever we have been called to do. He also talked about how this doesn't mean we should avoid our weaknesses but that our society tends to have an obsession with thinking that we can "fix" our weaknesses and lose mental energy by doing this instead of spending this energy embracing and leveraging our strengths in any career or leadership position.

As a future career counselor, I was really inspired in how to apply this kind of thinking with future clients and also with the students I advise currently at UCD. If you do buy the book and take the Strengths Finder test, I'd be interested to know what your top five themes are. Mine happen to be:

Connectedness
Input
Communication
Maximizer
Strategic