Sunday, May 8, 2011

This may be a bit negative but...

... I wanted to express my disappointment in the StrengthsFinder book/test. I mean it's neat in the sense that it gives you an idea of what you're good at, but after reading the first few chapters and then taking the test and seeing the advice they give I get the sense its all about taking the easy way out so that failure is less likely to occur. For example:
  
Don’t over-invest in losing causes. Your natural inclination to see the best in people and situations can create a blind spot that will keep you from moving on to more opportune situations.

     I can't see anyway of making that statement acceptable. The author implies, in the beginning of the book, that the countless hours he spent practicing basketball were wasted because he didn't make the team. What an awful attitude to have! If all we ever do is what we're good at then there's no room for growth. It's adversity that pushes us to improve. Perseverance and endurance in the face of difficulty and opposition are what makes us better people, not taking the path of least resistance.
     Maybe I missed the instructions on what we were supposed to take away from this test, but I sure hope it was just supposed to be a look at our strengths and not a comment on what we're to do with them. Because I couldn't disagree more with the majority of what I'm reading. It's gettin' me all worked up!