Your Life as a River: Reflecting on the Past to Create a Strengths Based Future

We have all had times in our lives when we needed to find the strength to navigate a path through difficulties. But where does that strength come from? How are we able to call on it to help us deal with those kinds of situations? And perhaps most important, can we draw on it to help us achieve our potential in other areas of our lives? The answer to these questions is essentially what this book is about.Your Life as a River provides an innovative approach to a topic explored in previous books on the topic of strengths. Through the life stories of nine first generation college students, four key concepts emerge: relationships and talent development; the interaction of our talents; the contradictory nature of talents; and how talents are used to navigate life’s challenges and difficulties. Providing stories for reflection, Your Life as a River examines how talents are used in the context of the four key concepts in order to determine positive, effective strategies for in the future. Chapters One and Two present a foundation for the concepts outlined in the book. Chapter One presents an overview of the concepts of talents and shows how those talents, combined with knowledge and skill, can be developed into strengths. Chapter Two examines four key concepts in the use of our talents, including our combination of talents, the balcony and basement use of our talents, the importance of our key relationships and how they impact and are impacted on by our talents, and how our talents help us get through the difficult times in our lives. Chapters Three through Eleven present the stories of the nine first-generation college students and their educational journeys. The final chapter offers the tools you will need to become the best version of yourself.

Dr. Therese Lask has worked in Student Services for over twenty years, in four year public and private institutions, and currently at Aims Community College in Greeley, CO. Her most recent position is Director of Student Support Services Program, serving the main campus and four satellite campuses. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Northern Colorado completing her dissertation titled: First Generation College Students: Stories of Hope and Resilience. Introduced to the strengths movement at the Chair Academy, Dr. Lask has conducted a series of workshops on strengths for the division of Student Services and infused strengths into the Student Support Services Program. She now is a consultant for the Gallup's Educational Practice Division, including conducting a series of free webinars and facilitates an online professional development course, for the Clifton Strength School. Dr. Lask serves on Gallup's Strengths Advisory Panel and on the International Practitioner's Board for the Chair Academy.