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relator, and strategic — that they believe to be among the most prevalent
human strengths. The authors make an interesting point, arguing that our
usual way of approaching aptitudes or “innate strengths” is backward.

Instead of supporting individuals’ strengths, managers focus on “fixing”
their weaknesses, and consequently miss the opportunity to help people
maximize the contributions they could otherwise make. In some ways, we
as individuals often do the same thing. We focus all our energy on our
perceived failings, while simply taking for granted — or even dismissing —
those collections of strengths or aptitudes uniquely our own.

Bottom line: what have you been doing when you’ve felt most alive? What
activities give you energy? What gives you a deep sense of satisfaction
and contribution? If you’re not sure, you may want to take a look at Tom
Rath’s guide to these strengths, StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Gallup Press, 2007).

Patients, managing people, technology, or systems. Most in the
nursing profession find that they’re inherently adept in one of these four
areas; in other words, you’re pretty good at it, you enjoy doing it, and
you like to figure out how to get better at it. Based on what you know of
yourself so far, would you say you have a preference for one of these
areas, or alternatively, a strong sense of avoidance? Pay attention to these
responses, because they’re one of your strongest indicators of best-fit
career paths.
Whichever of these four areas most calls to you, they can be practiced
in multiple nursing career paths, including institutional, private practice,
government or corporate settings, and as an independent.
Key Motivators

Interestingly, our understanding of what motivates people is now being
studied by psychologists and scholars as a key element of well-being and/
or happiness — and the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that what
employers thought motivated staffers is pretty much not the case.
For most people, it’s generally not about money. In fact, according to
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Riverhead Books,
2011) by researcher and writer Daniel Pink, most of us are naturally
motivated by three things: autonomy (the ability to direct our own lives),
mastery (the engagement that comes from learning and creating new
things), and purpose (working for a cause greater than ourselves). It’s
important to remember that what may motivate you intrinsically at any
given point in your career may be outweighed by external factors, such as
the need to prioritize a high salary, job flexibility, or a predictable routine
because of personal commitments. The key is to recognize the difference
between internal and external motivations when it comes to your job
decisions, so you can be comfortable knowing you made the best decision
for yourself based on your highest priorities (or motivators) at the time.

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