Strength Exercises Worksheet: Strength Regulation
The best way to play to our strengths in day-to-day life is to manage the way we use them mindfully because sometimes, overplaying or underplaying a strength can lead to problems. Take, for example, your best friend asking you whether you think her wedding dress is pretty moments before she walks down the aisle. At this moment, if you happened to dislike the dress, overplaying your strength “honesty” could have dire consequences. You (as well as your best friend) would benefit most from regulating your ‘honesty’ at this moment.
Like the volume knob on a stereo, playing to your strengths can be dialed up and dialed down for the best result in a given situation. In this exercise, you will choose a personal strength and explore the consequences of overplaying (i.e., dialing up) and underplaying (i.e., dialing down) this strength in a particular context. You will then explore what it would be like (and what the outcome would be) to use this strength in an optimal way (i.e., to set the volume at the perfect level).
Instructions:
Step 1: Select a strength
First, select a personal strength for this exercise. You might like to choose one of your strengths that you wish to use more of or that you know you tend to underuse or overuse in your life (e.g., honesty, creativity, perseverance).