- Home
- Find a Therapist
- Topic Streams
- Get Help
Mental Health
Addiction
ADHD
Anxiety
Asperger's
Autism
Bipolar Disorder
Depression
Eating Disorders
Insomnia
OCDPersonality
Passive Aggression
Personality
ShynessPersonal Growth
Happiness
Goal Setting
Positive PsychologyRelationships
Low Sexual Desire
Relationships
SexEmotion Management
Anger
Procrastination
StressFamily Life
Adolescents
Child Development
Elder Care
Parenting
SiblingsRecently Diagnosed?
Diagnosis Dictionary
- Magazine
- Tests
- Psych Basics
- Experts
I disagree with Marcus Buckingham, the co-author of "Now, Discover Your Strengths," who asserts that the way to achieve goals is to focus on your strengths. I believe that it is our weaknesses that prevent us from making substantial changes in our lives. Read More
Great Article! Looking
Great Article! Looking forward to more of your posts.
The difficulty with disagreeing with others ...
... is you get caught up in it.
To take a stand by first disagreeing with a stand taken by someone else, makes your efforts to come across as empowering laughable. You're still caught up in disagreements.
If I follow your article correctly, the road to personal growth is paved with many needs, have-to's and musts. It might say more about you than about growth, for growth IS the natural course of things when what's preventing it is eliminated. To tell a rose it'd be better off by focusing on its weakness to be a tulip - wouldn't make sense, would it?
Disagreement
Beat,
I have to disagree with your view as my disagreement with Buckingham is only a small part of my post and it isn't the central theme at all. You say my position is laughable, but you don't indicate why, which happens to make your position unsupportable (or at least unsupported). Also, your use of the word 'laughable' suggests a certitude on your part that seems unjustified. I welcome welcome supportable differences of opinions, but language such as 'laughable' is a bit insulting.
Also, your statement that my position says 'more about you than about growth' again goes unexplained and makes assumptions about me that, because you know nothing about me, cannot be well founded.
I agree that growth is natural if, as you indicate, 'what's preventing it is eliminated.' In support of my view, what is preventing growth is usually some weakness that needs to be eliminated.
Where are the examples?
I agree with Prof. Taylor that it is wise to identify our weaknesses and seek to resolve or overcome them. But he doesn't provide any examples of the kind of insight we need to overcome these weaknesses. The man with the outgoing personality may see that this attribute of his is not enough for ongoing intimacy in a relationship, but what would be an example of the self-awareness or insight that leads him to become more open and empathetic? Surely just knowing that he needs to be more empathetic is not enough in itself. Is he, for instance, afraid of intimacy? If so, why? Is he too self-centered, too egotistical? Is that a compensation for not feeling his own value on a deeper level? If he can't feel his own value deeply enough, it will be hard for him to achieve intimacy. Why can't he feel his value? Does he have an inner critic that belittles him? Is he inwardly passive, afraid he will be swallowed up by love and intimacy? I could go on and on. Don't we have to follow threads such as this deeply into our psyche, getting insight at every level?
Hello, I do agree with dott.
Hello, I do agree with dott. Taylor .
It is wise to identify our weaknesses and seek to resolve or overcome them.
But were is one example of what we need to overcome these weaknesses ?
What would be an example of the self-awareness or insight that leads someone to become open and empathetic?
Just knowing what he needs is not enough. Thank you. Stefano G.
Post new comment