Like city-dwellers who no longer notice the polluted air, we breathe in the atmosphere of grace unawares. As early as preschool and kindergarten we are tested and evaluated before being slotted into an “advanced”, “normal”, or “slow” track. From then on we receive grades denoting performance in math, science, reading, and even “social skills” and “citizenship”. Test papers come back with errors – not correct answers – highlighted. All this helps prepare us for the real world with its relentless ranking, a grown-up version of the playground game “king of the hill”.

Why is it that the focus is always on the wrong, or the bad, or the incorrect? Why not focus on the good? Why not focus on the strengths? I am a big believer in developing your strengths, and working to complement your weaknesses. Yet society forces upon us a mindset that we have to focus on the bad, and not think about the good. Wouldn’t a student feel better about themselves, especially those who are struggling to learn, if the paper came back with the correct answers highlighted? Wouldn’t that change their mindset to work on getting more right answers, and in the process, learning in a positive manner?

The same goes for individuals within organizations, and even for the organization themselves. I have been thinking the last few days about how to write a meaningful post on strengths, and how organizations and individuals should focus on the strengths and emphasize the good. During your last performance review, how much time was spent on what you do well, on your strengths, and how much time was spent talking about your weaknesses and what you did wrong? I am guessing the conversation focused on the negative.

It shouldn’t be this way. Let’s focus on the positives. Let’s look at the good that we do as individuals and organizations. Let’s develop a renewed focus on strengths. The world may try to stick us in pegs based on our weaknesses, but it is critical to fight back and not be put in pegs, or at least if we are lets base it on something positive. Focus on the good, work on your strengths, and let the goodness flow and positive effectiveness develop.