Get Into Your Strength Zone

Frank played baseball beautifully. He played first base for his high school team and was the clean up hitter. With aspirations of playing in the major leagues, Frank thought he was on his way to his dream. At the start of his junior year, Frank began to notice a change in his vision--his peripheral vision was narrowing. The bad news came when the doctor told him that he had Retinitis Pigmentosa and would eventually lose his sight entirely.

That day came at the end of May in his junior year. Depressed and bitter, Frank wanted to retreat from high school as well as life. He thought that without his sight that he was less of a person.

Frank’s dad, however, knew better and stated to his son, “Frank, when one of our strengths diminishes, our body adapts and we gain in so many other ways. You will have new strengths in other areas not known to you before.” And he added, “Son, you are a great athlete, so use your abilities in a sport that does not require site, like wrestling.”

Frank listened to his dad and tried out for the wrestling team in his senior year. He found that his other senses had indeed become keener, especially his sense of touch and feel, which is essential in wrestling. With much determination and effort, Frank channeled his new found strengths into being a formidable foe on the mat, leading his team to the city championships that same year.

The good news is that we all are unique with unique strengths. As with Frank, we just need to be aware of our strengths and use them at the right time. Once we find our strengths and use them correctly, we gain a decided advantage over the competition.

Sometimes, our strengths reveal themselves out of our adversities. Such an event happened to one of the top producers in Hollywood. Stephen Cannel failed first, fourth, and tenth grade. He couldn’t read and comprehend as well as the other kids. He would spend 5 hours with his mother studying for a test and still fail it. Stephen concluded he was unintelligent.

Instead of focusing on schoolwork, Stephen Cannel decided to place his energies on what he was good at, and that was football. Harnessing all his effort into football, he earned honors as a running back. From football, he learned that his strength lay in his application of effort. For Stephen to achieve excellence, he needed to focus all his energies toward excellence in that task.
Later in life, he was able to transfer this strength of applied effort into his career, which ironically turned out to be writing scripts for television. Eventually, he formed his own production studio where he created and produced 350 scripts for television shows like a Baretta and the Rockford Files. (2)
Parents should take the lead from Frank, and Stephen: Have your children use their strengths as much as they can. Martin Seligman, one of the leading psychologists in the world today, supports the notion of children using their signature strengths, and further adds, that individuals who can use their strengths will not only be more successful but also much happier. The following drills help parents teach their children how to use their signature strengths in life:

Find your signature strengths

First, have your child make a list of her five signature strengths. A signature strength is an aspect that we do best. This strength could range from writing, to sports, to being a great listener.

Strengths:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Then, ask her to describe why these are her signature strengths. Is she good at these skills or does she just like this activity? Focus on the competency to find the strength instead of the enjoyment.