If I lost ten pounds…

If I were more patient with my children…

If my husband would help more around the house…

If I got that promotion at work…

…then I’d be happy.

Despite all of the achievements women have made over the last few decades, we are still not happy.  The pressure to attain perfection in the home, workplace, gym, etc., has caused many women to feel the joy sucked right out of their souls. In Find Your Strongest Life, Marcus Buckingham argues that to find true happiness, we don’t need to achieve perfection in all areas.  Instead, we need to concentrate on our strengths and build our lives around the unique role we were designed to play.

Filled with examples from successful women’s lives and guidance from the “Strong Life Test,” Find Your Strongest Life gave me much food for thought as to how I can make different choices on a daily basis to find true joy.  While I did enjoy this book and found it a quick read, I was disappointed that so little attention is given to the stay-at-home-mom.  Buckingham seems to focus on the career-woman, and while he does use one illustration of an at-home mother, she is far outnumbered by his working-mother illustrations.  As a stay-at-home-mom myself, I was hoping for at least one more example of how to put his principles into practice.

Nevertheless, any woman could read this book and walk away with some clarity as to changes she needs to make. Buckingham’s book was worth the read, and I look forward to pursuing my strongest life.