Strengths are Circular

This is no great revelation, of course, but I thought I would share this way of thinking about it because, for all i know, it might come up in a Performance Review you must give today.

It's not unlike the analogy of traveling eastward and, thousands of miles later, finding oneself in the west. 

Strengths work in a similar way.

That ability you have, that talent, that gift, that natural capacity that accompanies you so effortlessly...it can, when applied beyond its appropriate envelope, be a weakness.

Are you a great listener with no voice?

Are you a great speaker with no ears?

Are you a great visionary who lacks people skills?

Are you an insightful person who decides prematurely?

Are you a wonderfully gung-ho sort who bulldozes over people?

I don't know.

Maybe you are or maybe you aren't.

But the problem is you might not even know yourself.

It's often hardest to see ourselves.

For example, I 'think' I know what I sound like when I speak.  After all, I speak daily.  But then I hear my recorded voice and shudder.  "Is that really ME?  Yikes..."

The same is often true of our strengths--we think we know them, we presume they work wonderfully for us...but perhaps we should step back, regularly seek feedback from others, and be cautious when red-lining our talents and abilities.

After all, the maxim, "If some is good, more must be better" ain't always true.

Too much medicine is poisonous.

Too much of most good things is debilitating.

Those strengths we possess, when used in moderation or appropriate situations, can be wonderful.

Just remember, they are circular, too. 

Perhaps David Banner said it best, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."  True that.

Green is great, but even more so in small doses.