What a great weekend! My mind is still spinning (in a good way) from the WOF conference.

The speakers were amazing and every session was packed with information and inspiration. Mandisa (from American Idol) was even there and she rocked the house.

I’m sure I’ll be sharing things from the conference for the next several weeks as I process it all. :)

One of my favorite speakers was Marcus Buckingham–New York Times best selling author and founder of a management consulting firm that specializes in strengths-based solutions for companies.

What Marcus shared about discovering your strengths and then leaning more into those strengths instead of focusing on your weaknesses really impacted me. 

As I sat there listening, I found myself not only wanting to apply what I was learning to things like my writing, but I especially wanted to apply it to my role as a mom.

I think as moms, we sometimes wish we were more this way or that. We spend a lot of time trying to improve our weaknesses. We compare ourselves to other moms.

And while continual learning as a parent is necessary and good, as Marcus points out: focusing too much on our weaknesses can sometimes lead us to forget our strengths.

One of the tools he shared in his session to help people identify their strengths was this quick test on his website.

It was fun to take the test and see what I already felt in my heart–that I’m a Caretaker. I’m one of those people who likes to make sure everyone is happy and comfortable.

But I was surprised to see that my secondary strength was that of a Teacher.

A teacher…

I had to think about that for a few minutes after I saw it because I’ve never thought of myself as having the strength of teaching.

When I was little–probably about the fourth grade–one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up was a teacher. And ironically, just a few weeks ago my son asked me what I used to want to be and I told him, “A teacher, but I think that was because I liked writing on the chalk board so much.”

It didn’t occur to me that I might have been pulled towards teaching, even as a little girl, because that was one of my strengths.

I love being able to share stories and pass information on that helps people come to a new understanding–whether it’s through my writing or when I’m talking about something with my kids.

I just never thought of that as teaching.

Listening to Marcus and what he said about finding ways to lean into the strengths God gave you really made me think about how I can use Caretaking and Teaching to contribute to my kids, and to my parenting.

And how I can take those strengths and apply them to my weaknesses too.

It’s exciting when you look at parenting that way: that you’re a mom gifted with specific strengths and you can use those strengths in unique and effective ways to raise your kids.

It’s good to look at your kids that way too, recognizing their strengths and helping them find opportunities to express and grow those strengths so they can become who they were truly created to be.

Pretty cool, don’t you think? :)

Take a minute and click over to Marcus’s quick Strong Life Test for Women, then come back and share what your strengths are. Or just leave a comment and share your thoughts. :)

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