Strengths/weaknesses?

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BabyTyrant

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So, if you feel like sharing, what are your strengths/weaknesses?

Fair warning though, its pretty long and may bother people who seem bothered by imperfect grammar (basically a Grammar Nazi: no real Nazis involved)

You don't have to share it you don't want to, but I figured I would make a topic for anybody that feels like it.

My strengths

I'm physically strong (cant really give a measurement in Lbs, just that I don't look too strong to a lot of people, but then I lift/move things heavier than most would dare try, though I know to not push myself too hard)

I also have a strong work ethic with very few missed days in over 4 years of working at the same place and they like that I can do almost everything they put me to well and I usually work OverTime if asked or if I know it's an option.

I can usually joke about things and not let things bother me at all, but of course I have my limits and sometimes I'm just not in a mood for things people do, especially if they keep at it (it's sort of like poking a bear, just because you might get away with it once doesn't mean to keep doing it)

I also try to put my better foot forward and be nice to people as it just feels good, but some of my habits do seem to make a few people that cant joke around think I'm a jerk and I know some people try to take advantage of nice people.

I'm also told I'm very smart, I see it in certain ways, but theres still a lot I don't know, I guess I baffle people because I know a lot about a lot of different things.

Weaknesses

I sometimes feel "macho" like I can work through almost any kind of sick - this has led me to going to work 2 times when i shouldn't have even left my bed or at least stayed home, both times I managed to beat the sickness at home without even seeing a doctor, but at least with the odd stomach bug I still wonder what it was or if seeing a doctor would have helped (it was basically a harsh 3 day sickness and then on day 4 I was way better)

I also can feel like there is no such thing as too heavy and sometimes i think i have an internal "God Complex" like i am a god and can do anything with willpower and a little attitude, and sometimes I am a serious jerk, doing things that get people mad, even repetitively, I'm surprised theres one person at work that seems to fully understand if I'm in an extreme mood (on either end) and seems to be nicer than many people probably would be

I also like to do things to an extreme like I usually binge drink, and then there were times when I doubled an already high alcohol consumption; not a good idea but I seemed 100% fine in the morning; still I have cut way back on drinking.

I was also into self-harm too much before (not that a little is okay, but I wish I stopped sooner) and really was in denial about it, but eventually I got over that attitude, got help and put it behind me for good.
 
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I'll answer here.

Strengths:

-I'm rather smart, although I usually don't go around flaunting the fact at people. (It tends to alienate perfectly nice and capable people! And I don't like that!) This is good because when people are trying to show me how to do things, they only have to do it once. (And sometimes not even then, I have a disturbing tendency to figure out machinery at work on my own. LOL)

-I work hard and rarely miss work. (Two days in 4 years, once because I couldn't lift my arms over my head and the doc gave me some of the 'good stuff' and I was hallucinating about the cat being too hairy.)

-I have a lot of empathy. I can understand how other people might feel, which leads me to be what one jerk at work terms as a 'bleeding heart'. (I told him if he kept up with the crap the only thing bleeding in the area would be him. LOL)

-Literal strength. Where I work I have to move 20-30 lb items up to 480 times a day. (If not more.) That kind of strength training sticks with you. LOL So I just grab things at the store and swing them around like nothing while people are going "WTH?" I don't look like I'm strong.

-Emotional/mental strength. I know who and what I am. I don't gotta worry about if you like me or not. (I hope you do, but if you decide that you don't, I'm not going to waste time trying to convince you otherwise.)

Weaknesses:

-I'm stupidly honest. If you want me to lie, I can't. I literally can. not. lie. I don't understand why, either. It's almost a compulsion. LOL So if you want me to say that you look good in that green and neon orange dress with the vividly pink tutu, I cannot. It looks horrible even in my imagination. (This isn't ALWAYS a weakness, but when it comes to trying to be nice to someone it makes it really difficult.)

-As an off-shoot of not being able to lie, I also CANNOT LET OTHERS DO IT IN MY PRESENCE. Which is always fun for the one jerk at work (same guy as above) who lies constantly about what he's done. I always point at the real person and say "NO. They did it. Stop lying."

-I'm prone to freaking out. If there are too many people around me, expect a freak-out. If I'm stuck in an area where there is one exit/entrance, expect a freak-out. If there is a creepy fish-faced man looking in my bedroom window, expect a freak-out. (Just seeing if you were still paying attention. LOL)

-I try to pretend I don't get sick. I do. A lot. But I try to ignore it. Like that's going to make it go away.

-I'm a mean, nasty-ass honey badger. ;)
 
Some of this is going to sound like I'm copying the other posters...

Strengths:

-I'm fairly intelligent. I write well, play along with Jeopardy!, and have an appreciation for art.

-I'm reliable. I don't call off work when it seems like everyone else is. I was pretty sick in February but drug my ass back in when my doctor's note expired. Didn't want to get points against myself. (Luckily for half of that day they just let me watch videos and help people who came to the door...)

-I'm just generally down-to-earth. I don't worry about the silly things that some other people do, or a lot of what society says is ''normal'' or ''abnormal.'' I'm my own person.

Weaknesses:

-I'm haunted by traumatic experiences that I just can't seem to shake.

-I'm not very social. I want to skip over ''making friends'' and go straight to finding a significant other.

-Autism-related traits, like having issues with empathy and not immediately catching the hidden meaning behind people's words

-I generally look out for myself first and foremost, meaning I can sometimes be a bit of an ass.

One that sort of falls in the middle: I like to tell it like it is, without sugar-coating. I view this more as a good thing, but it can sometimes be offensive to others.
 
Maxx said:
Even if nobody answers publicly, everyone SHOULD do it honestly in their own head (or their preferred medium: keyboard, spiral notebook, stone tablet, cave wall in the south of France).

Absolutely agree.

We have an annual review process at work that includes a self assessment, and like most, is complete BS. It's tied to your pay increase, so people obviously don't want to sabotage themselves, and most people when giving feedback don't want to screw someone else over.

When I recommend to people on my team though is that they take the time to do an actual honest self assessment just for themselves, and mainly answer:

- What are your strengths and how are you playing to them.
- What are your weaknesses and are they worth improving (no one is good at everything, and I honestly think sometimes it's just a matter of identifying where your weak spots are and learning to work around them rather than fix them)?
- For weaknesses that you do think are holding you back, what's your plan.

Some of mine..

Strengths:

- I learn fast and am really good at wrapping my head around large complex problems with a lot of moving parts. Doesn't help me much in my personal life, but this is my single biggest strength professionally. I'm able to debug the hard problems that most people can't wrap their head around because there is just too much going on or the problem space is too broad. Luckily this skill is fairly well recognized and I've been positioned into a role where this is basically my job.
- I'm a very pragmatic person. I have strong opinions on a lot of things, but I'm usually able to see the value in stuff I disagree with when it'll result in a more favourable outcome than what I would view as the ideal. This applies to just about everything in my life (work, politics and social issues, etc..). When it comes to decisions I disagree with, I've got a good sense of when to cut my losses and try to make the best of things.
- Good (if warped) sense of humor.

Weaknesses:

- Organizational skills. I'm terrible in this regard. I've tried all manner of note taking and TODO lists, emailing myself reminders, sticky notes, and so forth.. but I still struggle to keep track of anything outside of say 2 weeks. I see this as my biggest weakness professionally, and it also impacts me outside of work.
- People skills when things go poorly. I'm good at working with others when everything is moving along (often cited as a strength), but when things go south I struggle. I dislike confrontation, and tend to weasel around it it where it's probably actually called for.
 
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