Your strengths are what you find easy, enjoy doing, and excel at. They're the activities where effort feels natural rather than forced — where you lose track of time because the work itself energizes you. Martin Seligman's research in positive psychology suggests that understanding and using your signature strengths is one of the most reliable paths to engagement, flow, and outstanding results. People who use their strengths daily are significantly more likely to report high energy, happiness, and a sense of accomplishment. --- ## Why Strengths Matter for Aligned Action Most productivity advice focuses on fixing weaknesses or grinding through resistance. Strengths-based work flips that: instead of pushing uphill, you find the path that runs downhill. When you know your strengths: - **You make better choices** about which tasks to tackle yourself and which to delegate - **You achieve more with less effort** by working with your natural grain - **You experience more flow states** — deep engagement happens when challenge meets capability - **You set more realistic and motivating goals** that play to what you're naturally good at Strengths aren't about avoiding hard things. They're about knowing which hard things are *your* hard things — the challenges you're uniquely equipped to take on. --- ## Identifying Your Strengths ### Use a Formal Assessment Tools like the **VIA Character Strengths Survey** (free at viacharacter.org) or **CliftonStrengths** can help you discover strengths you might take for granted. Often the things that come easiest to us are invisible — we assume everyone can do them. ### Trust Your Intuition You likely already have a sense of what you're good at and enjoy. Ask yourself: - What activities make me lose track of time? - What do people regularly come to me for help with? - What feels effortless to me but seems hard for others? - When do I feel most energized at work? ### Explore with Your AI Coach Ask your coach to help you identify your strengths through conversation. The coach can draw on patterns from your tasks, goals, and reflections to surface strengths you might not have named yet. --- ## Strengths in MakeTimeFlow When you share your strengths with the system, they become part of how MakeTimeFlow understands you: ### AI Coaching Your coach can suggest approaches that leverage your strengths. If you're strong in creative thinking, the coach might suggest brainstorming approaches to a problem. If you're strong in analysis, it might suggest a structured breakdown. ### Task Prioritization When choosing what to work on, knowing your strengths helps you identify where you'll make the most impact. Not every task needs to play to your strengths — but the important ones probably should. ### Goal Setting Your [[Getting Started with Goals|Success Stories]] become more achievable when they're designed around what you're genuinely good at. A quarterly goal that leverages your strengths is far more likely to succeed than one that fights against your natural tendencies. ### Team Awareness Combined with your [[Relationships|relationship map]], strengths help you understand who to partner with. Your weaknesses might be someone else's strengths — and knowing that makes delegation and collaboration more intentional. --- ## How to Add Your Strengths You can share your strengths with MakeTimeFlow in two ways: - **Through conversation** — Ask your AI coach: "Help me identify my strengths" or "Let's talk about what I'm good at" - **In your preferences** — Add and edit your strengths directly Start with 3-5 strengths that feel most true. You can always refine them as your self-awareness grows. > [!info] Strengths vs Values > Strengths and values are complementary but different. **Values** are what you stand for — they guide *what* you pursue. **Strengths** are what you're great at — they guide *how* you pursue it. Knowing both helps you find work that is both meaningful and energizing. --- ## Related - [[Know Yourself]] — The foundation: values, strengths, and relationships - [[Values]] — What drives you and why it matters - [[Relationships]] — Who matters and how strengths show up in teams - [[Flourishing Map]] — How strengths connect to Engagement & Flow