Everyone has strengths! Sometimes they are hidden and sometimes they shine like blazing lights. And sometimes, especially when things get tough, we may wonder where our strengths have gone!

We may think of strengths as qualities we inherit (such as patience, resilience or kindness), resources we gather (such as a house, a computer or a car) or skills we learn as we journey through life (such as a profession or other skills and talents such as fixing an engine, growing a garden or casting a fishing line). But we can also think of our strengths as choices we make.

We can choose to see ourselves as a ‘victim’ or a ‘survivor’. We can choose to see the glass half-full or half-empty. We can choose to see ourselves as possessing hopes, dreams and untapped potential or as filled with deficits and problems. We can choose to focus on and practise a particular strength from a huge array of potential strengths.

Choosing Strengths is a set of 36 cards and booklet that will be published by Innovative Resources in early 2013. This conversation-building resource is founded in the rich tradition of CHOICE THEORY and STRENGTHS-BASED PRACTICE. Each card, beautifully illustrated and designed by Tim Lane, identifies a potential strength that anyone can choose to cultivate and make their own.