Self-Assurance: The Reality About Self-Assurance
StrengthsFinder Theme / CliftonStrengths Theme: Self-Assurance
What Is the SELF-ASSURANCE Theme
Those with Self-Assurance are the people in our lives who have an innate and enduring awareness of who they are and what they are capable of achieving. It does not mean that know everything or that their lives are cake-walks; instead it means that they are comfortable piloting their own lives, making decisions, taking action, and owning the responsibilities as well as the outcome.
In a phrase: They are confident in their own skin. They are not trying to be or please anyone else. They see themselves clearly and, importantly, they can deliver results that accurately and objectively reflect their self- perception. That is to say that they are who they think they are—they can walk their talk. This makes them natural and inspiring leaders, guides, and trailblazers.
They are at home making important decisions, which they base on their own observations, experience, and deep knowing. In fact, they have seemingly limitless faith in themselves and their own abilities to navigate the world. Autonomy is key to them, a source of life. By constantly bringing out the best in themselves, people with Self-Assurance bring out the best in us and in the world.
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Why Should We Care
They are resilient people who have an intuitive way of bouncing back after an upset or moving forward despite the odds—and they teach the rest of us how to do the same. They are instructive and inspiring to others, simply by how they live and interact. They provide a concrete and consistent model of how developing an inner-awareness is essential to thrive. People with Self-Assurance actually seek out challenges that put themselves to the test—always fine-tuning along the way in an effort to ensure their success, progress, and personal evolution. They can often do what most people cannot or will not.
When it comes to working with others, they are generally motivating and respectful, and they often have a highly developed sense of tact, which can be very charismatic. So, while they are high-achieving, they do not generally steamroll others, preferring to avoid conflict, confrontation, and power-struggles, if possible. That said, they also don’t look for buy-in or consensus before moving forward, either. If they know what they want to do and feel that it’s right, they move ahead and take action confidently—they don’t need the approval of other people to get moving and they are comfortable going it alone. An awareness of the fact that each person perceives and experiences the world differently is central to their world view, which is why they are not concerned with getting complete cooperation before taking action. They remind us of our sovereign agency and personal power to create change in our lives. They inspire us to truly go for it.
Ten Things to Know About People with SELF-ASSURANCE
1. Awareness. Self-Assurance is about more than simple confidence. It’s about self-awareness—folks with this strength know what they are capable of, to be sure; but they are also aware of what they are incapable of—what they cannot do, too. And, they are comfortable with it. They are not into peacocking or appearances, they like what is real—a Strengths-mindset naturally makes sense to them—so, they are at ease letting someone else do what they cannot do.
2. Impact. They may become agitated or even depressed if they are feeling bored, confined, or limited, or if they are not living in the fullness of their potential. They are here to contribute. It may be personal or global, loud or quiet—either way, they are here to have an impact and will fight in order to leave their mark on the world.
3. Trust. When it comes to making decisions and taking action, sometimes they may need to say, “I just know.” In these cases, they rely on others to trust them and their ability to deliver on what they know. It can be difficult at times for them to truly articulate their vision or action-plan, as they can intuitively connect may dots in their minds.
4. Complexity. Their strength is more than simple sureness, and it is certainly not arrogance. Instead, it is a type of multi-dimensional confidence based one part on gut and intuition, one part on experience, learning, and observation, and one part on natural instinct.
5. Early Adopters. People with Self-Assurance are often early adopters of new ideas, trends, and technology. They seem to have a radar screen that picks up elements and decodes patterns to make order out of chaos, which can put them ahead of the curve.
6. First-hand. They are likely to be people who “learn by doing” as well as people who want to try things out for themselves before establishing an opinion or making an endorsement. Cool and calm as they may be, they are, by nature, action oriented and want to experience the world with their own senses and see things with their own eyes.
7. Representation. Hollywood, television, and popular culture are prone to cookie-cutter archetypes of what Self-Assurance looks and feels like—at times glamorizing it as a type of macho coldness or robotic bull-headedness, when really, it’s purest form is rooted in deep intuitive awareness, which can be absolutely silent and warm-hearted.
8. Authenticity. Being genuine and sincere is very important to them. And, this included being so with themselves. They are not ones to be in denial or look away from a problem in their lives. They also expect a level of openness and vulnerability from others—something that they can connect to on a deeper-than-surface level.
9. Personal Development. They have a natural inclination toward conscious personal development. They like to be at the reins of their own lives and refuse to float for very long. Don’t be surprised if they are constantly investing in some sort of self-improvement activity.
10. Love. They know it when they see it and they will likely be attracted to others who are ambitious, free-thinking, and self-made. They are willing to be alone in lieu of having a superficial, artificial, or shallow connection with another person. Love, for them, is likely about doing things together as opposed to planning or talking about doing things together.
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