Name: Jennifer

Age: 33

Family Status: Married with two children

Occupation: Small-business owner, foundation coordinator (fundraising/marketing)

Strengths: Creating new ideas/events, marketing

Weaknesses: Accounting, repetitive tasks

Biggest lesson from workshop: There are two I find equally important:
1. Broad strengths are okay. I was trying to narrow down my strength of new idea/event development into something more defined, but I realize that the purpose of identifying a strength is not to pigeonhole yourself into a label. It's much more about self-awareness. For me, this workshop was about taking the time to recognize a few of my own strengths to help me grow as a person and be on the lookout for opportunities to use those strengths more.
2. Allow yourself new opportunities and experiences to put your strengths to work. (My coach focused on this.) It may not be obvious where you can use your strengths. Using your skills to volunteer, for example, may be a great way to find satisfaction—but you have to know what’s out there, and the only way to do that is to get out there. I think this is just as important as increasing the amount of time you use your strengths in your current situation.

Update since workshop: I'm saying yes! I'm really just trying to experience new things this year. For a control freak, that's a bit of a challenge. But instead of predetermining the outcome of every experience before it happens and then deciding if I want to do it, I'm living by the rule to say yes to new experiences, challenges, foods, etc. (This is not to be confused with being a doormat or a "yes woman.")

Goal: To find that one thing that is missing in my life. I've said from the beginning that I have a great family, great jobs, friends, etc., but also that nagging feeling that there is something more I am supposed to be doing. I think [A New Earth author] Eckhart Tolle said it best: "Ask life what it wants from you rather than telling life what you want from it." So now I recognize some of my strengths, and if I ask life what it wants from me and give up a little control by saying yes more often, I may just give life an opportunity to answer.

Read my blog.