Strengths and weaknesses (personality)

Taoist pictorial representation of dark and light

Strengths and weaknesses generally refer to a person's character.

Personal strengths are defined as positive character traits that include abilities, talents, skills, attributes and knowledge in which an individual exceeds. Weaknesses are the opposite of strengths, meaning they are defined as character traits that are poorly developed or negative. Weaknesses are used to describe the skill or ability of an individual in which they fail to complete the task or role more than once.

In personal and professional environments, people tend to focus on using their strengths to boost and improve their performance or results, while they try to fix or minimize their weaknesses.

Identification

Most people know their strengths and weaknesses but are not fully aware of them or do not know all of them. To identify them there are multiple methods, but peer review is often the first approach. Asking friends, colleagues, or family members and writing them down will help with the identification of a person's strengths and weaknesses. Other methods are taking a strengths test or making a self-reflection.

In other cultures

Often a strength can be a weakness, and vice versa, a weakness can be a strength. In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (e.g., dark and light) are described as complementary opposites within a greater whole.

See also

• Aptitude
• Intelligence
• Physical strength
• Virtues and Vices
• Character Strengths and Virtues