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Is your personality nature or nurture?  Studies consistently show 45 to 50 percent is nature.  The surprise though is that the other 50 percent is not nurture.  It’s not your birth order.  It’s not whether you were in day care.  Most surprisingly, 0 percent of the remaining 50 to 55 percent is  determined by how your parents raised you.  Don’t worry, you can still blame your parents for lots of specific aspects of your behavior, but you can’t blame them for your …

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Strengths and weaknesses are not the same as personality labels.  Personality profiles are your strongest patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior.  Strengths are those activities that you do well and have a natural passion and ability for.   The key is to go beyond any personality labels and identify your specific, real world activities that are your strengths and invest your time in those areas.  In Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, Marcus Buckingham writes about going beyond personality …

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Activities that are all appetite, no ability are hobbies. You might feel drawn to these activities.  You might even grow from them and feel good afterward.  But if you are not successful or effective, they are hobbies, not strengths. If you recognize the difference, you can move on to explore finding your strengths. You can still make time for your hobbies, but the key is to keep exploring your abilities until you find your true strengths.  That’s how you go from good to great. In Go …