Just Like Bunko – Part 2 of 6 – Learning Strengths
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Just like Bunko, I was frustrated with the way things were going in my life. As an undergrad, I spent most of my time in school, group meetings and labs. But with disappointing grades, it appeared that the more I studied, the more likely I was to get a lower mark. My time spent on studying had an inverse relationship with the grade I would receive. I was undoubtedly very disappointed. My problems were not going away.
Every assignment felt mountainous and my accounting homework seemingly never balanced. Like Bunko, I couldn’t decide whether it was mind-numbingly repetitive or repetitively mind-numbing! Assignments and projects took forever to finish, while my peers seemed to have no trouble with the same tasks. So, despite a constant level of stress, I vowed to work harder to overcome my weaknesses.
I swore to start from scratch again – learn the fundamentals of accounting, learn the practices, and build leadership – all the while focusing on where I am weak and ensuring my weaknesses wouldn’t hold me back. But all this was wrong. I was reminded that I shouldn’t be focusing on my weaknesses. Instead, I should think strengths.
That may not make a lot of sense at first, but try googling “Martin Seligman” and “Marcus Buckingham.” In short, their research has found that the key to success is to steer around your weaknesses and focus on your strengths. Successful people don’t try too hard to improve what they’re bad at. Rather, they capitalize on what they’re good at. (more…)