Strength Activity 1:
Choose Your Strengths
This is a personal adventure. We encourage you to review all the categories, but you’ll still benefit if you just do a few. You may want to use a journal or take notes on a device. Enjoy!
Helpful Tips:
There are a few ways to approach choosing your best qualities.
- One is to reflect on your own observations. This exercise isn’t about comparing yourself to others, but we do gather information by how we are different than other people. Perhaps you have noticed some qualities come more naturally to you than they do to others.
- Another is to recall what friends, family, mentors, and community members have said. They may have noticed qualities in you.
Having evidence from our own story is powerful, even if it’s subjective. Have fun seeing how wonderful you are! 🙂
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There are two steps to this process. Step 1 has two options to help you choose your qualities. In Step 2 you get to declare which qualities are your strengths.
Step 1: Option 1 – The Story Method
Our mind holds onto stories. Remembering our stories sometimes an easier way for us to see our qualities rather than starting with a word list.
Directions:
- Think of a time, even recently, when you felt good about something you were a part of. It could be an achievement, the way you interacted with people, or something you experienced that you love to do.
- Then use the Word List to choose the words that name what you saw in yourself.
Step 1: Option 2 – The Word Method
Sometimes finding the right words ground us and remind us of who we are. From there we can remember the times we’ve used our strengths.
Directions:
- Choose qualities that you believe you have from the list of strengths below. If you’d rather not use all the sections, pick a few that resonate with you. _________________________________________________________________________
List of Strengths:
- These strengths have been categorized to make the exercise easier. However, many could fit in one or more categories.
Strengths – What you might be like as a person:
- Humble – seeing oneself realistically
- Confident
- Self-reflective
- Creative
- Independent
- Enthusiastic
- Decisive
- Artistic in nature – inspired by color, beauty, and design
- Artistic in practice – musically gifted, putting items together well, gifted in visual art
- Enthusiastic
- Open Minded
- Even keel
- Flexible
- Not overwhelmed easily
- Supportive of others
- Not typically fearful
- Approachable
- Transparent
- Calming presence
- Expressive
- Relaxed
- Structured
- Dependable
- Intuitive
- Invigorated by competition
- Adaptable
- Verbal
- Visual
- Resilient
- Careful
Strengths – What your approach to work or school might look like:
The descriptors in “What you might like” may apply here as well. Feel free to use those for this category also.
- Aims for excellence
- Logical thinker – there’s an order and process that’s easily accessible to your thought process
- Global thinker – one idea or fact takes you to another idea and you see the big picture
- Accurate
- Task oriented
- Relationally oriented
- Detail oriented
- Organized
- Methodical
- Consistent
- Efficient
- Thrive with variety
- Thrive with repeated rhythms
Strengths – Roles you might take in a team:
- Leader
- Support for the leader
- Team player
- Planner/Strategist – clearly sees ways to accomplish goals or tasks
- Encourager
- Observer
- Visionary – ideas of what things could be like if changes occur
- Motivator
- Peacemaker
- Behind the scenes person
- Care giver
- Energizer
- Learner
- Researcher
Strengths – What you might have to offer:
- Kindness
- Generosity
- Gentleness
- Faithfulness
- Self-Control
- Thoughtfulness
- Humility
- Service Oriented
- Integrity
- Empathy
- Sense of humor
- Strong Opinions
- Strong healthy boundaries
- High tolerance for chaos
- Wisdom
- Strong belief system
- Life experience in relevant areas
- Foresight – easily sees how something could lead to in the future
- Wide range of emotions
- Small range of emotions
Strengths – What you might do well:
- Ask for help when needed
- Strive to view oneself and others accurately
- Follow well
- Generate ideas
- Communicate clearly
- Write clearly
- Listen well
- Persuade
- Connect people
- Remember people easily
- Remember data and facts easily
- Use an existing system
- See how physical parts fit together – a mechanical mindset
- Have spatial awareness
- Create and develop systems
- See the big picture
- Cast a vision – motivate and encourage others toward a goal
- Complete tasks consistently
- Estimates time to complete a project well
- Teach / tutor others
- See the potential in others
- Inspire others toward success
- Operate well under pressure
- Evaluate to find a better solution
- Hospitality in welcoming others and/or providing for their needs
- Speak well in front of a crowd
- Follow directions easily
- Assimilate information easily
- Confront well – someone you’d want to hear constructive criticism from
- Gather people
- Overcome
- Repair relationships
- Adapt to circumstances
YOU DID IT!!!! 🙂
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Step 2 – Choose which qualities you believe are your strengths.
Directions: From the words you chose, decide which of the qualities are actually your strengths.
- Helpful Tip: If you believe you have 50% of the quality, it might be a strength. If you think you are 70% or higher, it’s safe to say it’s a strength. If you rate yourself at 80%, it is probably a high level strength.
To take this step is an accomplishment in and of itself!!! 🙂