Strength and Weakness are Synonyms
The interviewer across from you, in an effort to try to figure out who you are and whether you can effectively hold the role they are looking to hire for, asks you the inevitable question:
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
It's a complicated question, but you, in your self aware state, have an answer ready. I am great at X and not great at Y. How do you know the answer? My guess is you've been working on it for years.
As children, we are in a constant state of learning about who we are. What natural preferences do you have? What brings you joy? What seems like it just "clicks" for you? Having three children of my own I can tell you that there are some facets of your personality that are simply ingrained in you from birth. These are natural strengths that you must learn to harness and appreciate as you mature.
For some, visualizing how something should be built in order to work when it is complete comes naturally - for others, they stare in amazement at complex builds. For some, empathizing with those around them comes naturally, they simply feel what others feel. For those with a different set of personality traits, they may see others feelings but feel confused about peoples reactions on a regular basis and must make great efforts to understand.
That being said, many of our "natural strengths" are actually learned traits. Again, as children, we try different things and monitor the responses we get. We see our sibling get in trouble for losing their belongings, and learn to become conscientious of our items in order to receive positive feedback. We receive praise for math and work hard to master it, possibly letting reading slip. We try one social method with friends and feel embarrassed, so we try another to desperately try to feel comfortable in social situations.
All this is in preparation for the question before you: What are you good at? Where do you struggle?
I, personally, love personality tests. I love learning more about how people see the world around them. I love seeing what people view as priorities and how they put those opinions into action. In every "analysis" these tests love to tell you what your strengths are, and they also touch on your weaknesses. I have developed my own theory though about this - I think we should immediately put a stop the idea that some parts of you are bad or good.
The truth is your strengths and your weaknesses are the EXACT SAME THINGS.
It isn't that you don't have positive traits or struggles. Of course you do, and of course they are different than others. But, these things are just two sides of the exact same coin. Let's look at a few examples:
Strength: Practicality -Weighs all options before making a decision. What a wonderful trait! Running around making uneducated decisions is certainly not advised and a practical approach to evaluating choices is always wanted, right? Sure, but my guess is this person can sometimes fall into the trap of being paralyzed by their choices, wanting to pick the perfect one, and therefore sometimes choosing nothing at all. This same person may have a weakness they would describe as procrastination, seeking perfection or inability to quickly be decisive.
Strength: Honesty - a truth teller in all things. Who wouldn't want to be honest? How could there be a negative to being truthful and holding that as a core value in your life? Well, very honest people commonly come across as overly direct. They often dismiss people's feelings in order to speak the "truth" as they see it. They may describe their weakness as trouble with timing. They won't wait to address things the right way in a rush to get the real information out there. They may say that they speak without thinking.
Strength: Perseverance - pushing against obstacles to get to goals. No doubt that moving the needle forward in any of life's goals takes perseverance. After all, no one is going to accomplish them but you. But some may push people out of the way to get where they are going. They are reluctant to acknowledge and move past their failures. For some people they may describe their weakness as difficulty in changing course, even when obvious.
These are just a few examples but you could take ANY STRENGTH and turn it into your weakness. I challenge you to find the three things you would identify as your core strengths - parts of your personality that have served you well, make you who you are and are admired by others. Look at how these strengths could sometimes go too far and take you into a direction you don't intend. Awareness of how to make the most of your strengths without limiting yourself takes self reflection.
Along the same lines, what are things you've always beaten yourself up about? How can you reframe those traits in your head as positives (because they are). Now, try to keep your actions in line with the positive side of the trait without exhibiting the negative behaviors. Each time you have a negative thought, reframe it as soon as possible.
The point here is that there is nothing wrong with you. Traits are traits and all can be good when used appropriately. Be your best self by knowing who you are and showing off the best of your personality -because it is wonderful!!
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
It's a complicated question, but you, in your self aware state, have an answer ready. I am great at X and not great at Y. How do you know the answer? My guess is you've been working on it for years.
As children, we are in a constant state of learning about who we are. What natural preferences do you have? What brings you joy? What seems like it just "clicks" for you? Having three children of my own I can tell you that there are some facets of your personality that are simply ingrained in you from birth. These are natural strengths that you must learn to harness and appreciate as you mature.
For some, visualizing how something should be built in order to work when it is complete comes naturally - for others, they stare in amazement at complex builds. For some, empathizing with those around them comes naturally, they simply feel what others feel. For those with a different set of personality traits, they may see others feelings but feel confused about peoples reactions on a regular basis and must make great efforts to understand.
That being said, many of our "natural strengths" are actually learned traits. Again, as children, we try different things and monitor the responses we get. We see our sibling get in trouble for losing their belongings, and learn to become conscientious of our items in order to receive positive feedback. We receive praise for math and work hard to master it, possibly letting reading slip. We try one social method with friends and feel embarrassed, so we try another to desperately try to feel comfortable in social situations.
All this is in preparation for the question before you: What are you good at? Where do you struggle?
I, personally, love personality tests. I love learning more about how people see the world around them. I love seeing what people view as priorities and how they put those opinions into action. In every "analysis" these tests love to tell you what your strengths are, and they also touch on your weaknesses. I have developed my own theory though about this - I think we should immediately put a stop the idea that some parts of you are bad or good.
The truth is your strengths and your weaknesses are the EXACT SAME THINGS.
It isn't that you don't have positive traits or struggles. Of course you do, and of course they are different than others. But, these things are just two sides of the exact same coin. Let's look at a few examples:
Strength: Practicality -Weighs all options before making a decision. What a wonderful trait! Running around making uneducated decisions is certainly not advised and a practical approach to evaluating choices is always wanted, right? Sure, but my guess is this person can sometimes fall into the trap of being paralyzed by their choices, wanting to pick the perfect one, and therefore sometimes choosing nothing at all. This same person may have a weakness they would describe as procrastination, seeking perfection or inability to quickly be decisive.
Strength: Honesty - a truth teller in all things. Who wouldn't want to be honest? How could there be a negative to being truthful and holding that as a core value in your life? Well, very honest people commonly come across as overly direct. They often dismiss people's feelings in order to speak the "truth" as they see it. They may describe their weakness as trouble with timing. They won't wait to address things the right way in a rush to get the real information out there. They may say that they speak without thinking.
Strength: Perseverance - pushing against obstacles to get to goals. No doubt that moving the needle forward in any of life's goals takes perseverance. After all, no one is going to accomplish them but you. But some may push people out of the way to get where they are going. They are reluctant to acknowledge and move past their failures. For some people they may describe their weakness as difficulty in changing course, even when obvious.
These are just a few examples but you could take ANY STRENGTH and turn it into your weakness. I challenge you to find the three things you would identify as your core strengths - parts of your personality that have served you well, make you who you are and are admired by others. Look at how these strengths could sometimes go too far and take you into a direction you don't intend. Awareness of how to make the most of your strengths without limiting yourself takes self reflection.
Along the same lines, what are things you've always beaten yourself up about? How can you reframe those traits in your head as positives (because they are). Now, try to keep your actions in line with the positive side of the trait without exhibiting the negative behaviors. Each time you have a negative thought, reframe it as soon as possible.
The point here is that there is nothing wrong with you. Traits are traits and all can be good when used appropriately. Be your best self by knowing who you are and showing off the best of your personality -because it is wonderful!!
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