Stage 2 · Lesson 6 of 7

Weaknesses, honestly

Knowing yourself includes knowing what you are not good at. Some weaknesses matter for your goals and are worth fixing to a basic level: if you want a software job and cannot write a clear email, that will hold you back. Others do not matter much, and you can work around them, team up with someone or choose roles that need them less.

Also watch for overused strengths: persistence can become stubbornness, kindness can become never saying no, attention to detail can become never finishing. Ask yourself which of your strengths sometimes goes too far.

Common trapeither hiding weaknesses completely or spending all your effort fixing things that will never be strengths, instead of building on what you already do well.

A question to check yourself and an AI practice session come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it

Resources for this stage

Start with

ToolFree
VIA Character Strengths Survey
VIA Institute on Character
The free 24-strength survey: a starting hypothesis to test against your own stories

Practise

Greater Good in Action (UC Berkeley)
Guided practices for using strengths and noticing what goes well

Also worth your time

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Carol S. Dweck)ReadPaid
Strengths grow with practice: why a fixed view of your abilities holds you back
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)Go deeperPaid
Quiet strengths, like listening and depth, that loud classrooms often miss

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).