Moving day has come and gone, and I’m feeling accomplished. Packed it up, moved it out (and up!), and have almost unpacked everything. Wow, what a busy couple of weeks.
Life surprises me sometimes. People you think will never let you down often do, and people that you can’t depend on seem to come through when those “depend-ables” can’t. Weird. In a world that surprises me everyday, I can say that those that I have chosen to surround myself with everyday-are tremendous. Without them, I would be lost…not to mention pretty darn boring.
I recently took a test. A strengths assessment that outlined the 5 main strengths I possess. Needless to say, what came out of it was pretty fun.
There were 4 main Strengths Themes out there: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. You might not be too surprised when you hear that my main theme was Influencing. Crazy huh? No, seriously…out of 5 possible Influencing qualities, I seem to have 4 of them-Activator, Communication, Competition, and Woo. Yeah, you heard me, Woo. More on that later.
So, here’s an outline of each:
Activator: “Driven by your talents, you relieve people of the burden of having to figure out what you think, feel, and need. How? You simply tell them. Your plainspoken approach enhances their understanding of you as a person. Your straightforward expression of your needs and desires usually eliminates any confusion.” Well, well…I would say that’s pretty accurate. My “take-charge style” is a nice way of calling me a control freak. I get it…let’s move on to the next, shall we?
Communication: “Instinctively, you may be quite comfortable telling stories or describing your experiences,” (no? really? this is my sarcastic voice in case you hadn’t picked up on that). “Your talkative nature compels you to say whatever is on your mind”. Hummm…this reminds me of a story. My girl brought home her 1st Thursday folder from school last week. In this folder is a collection of graded work, take home fliers, announcements from school, and also an assessment from the teacher how she did this week in class-including a conduct grade. She is a great kid who has always received raving compliments from her teachers. And even though they consider her a wonderful student, she has NEVER received an “E” in conduct. (stands for excellent) She’s always brought home “S” for satisfactory. When I asked about it, the teachers would always say that she’s a very social girl, and that it still means she’s a good student. In other words, she talks to damn much. Poor thing-obviously she comes by it honestly. I remember having to sit at the front of the room in Mrs. Tipton’s class because I was “a very social girl”.
Anyway-I digress…back to Communication.
“Seldom you find yourself speechless. Driven by your talents you are loquacious.” Um…OK…I guess? Webster’s defines loquacious as -fond of talking. Lovely. Now I’m beginning to think that this Strengths Finder test is insulting me. Every time it says, “Driven by your talents…” it gives a back-handed compliment. Let’s see what else. ” Chances are good that you may have a knack for talking to people. Perhaps you encourage others to share their stories. Your stories can illustrate abstract ideas, theories, or concepts.” OK..so far so good. ” They can serve as examples of what to do and what not to do.” See, there it is again! Geez-having a computer make fun of you is a new low.
Competition: “By nature, you are much more intent on winning and being the best…Chances are good that you consistently aim to turn in the prize-winning performance.” Pretty dead on so far. “Driven by your talents…”(oh no, here we go again), “…you aim to win when comparisons are made between you and your opponents.” OK-not so bad, this time. “Sometimes your rivalries are public.” HAHAHAH! Seriously-all my rivalries are public. Anyway, this one is boring…lets get to the next one.
Woo: “Chances are good that you may be lighthearted and cheerful. By nature, you sometimes feel an urge to introduce yourself to visitors and start talking with them. Why? You welcome the chance to tell one more person what you dream of accomplishing…” OK! I’m stopping there. This is getting ugly. So, I talk about myself-who doesn’t? Whatever…hate this one!
So, my last and final strength was under the Strategic Thinking theme. Futuristic: “Chances are you may inspire people with you images of what can be. Perhaps you are prompted to transform you ideas into things you can touch, taste, see, smell, or hear. It’s very likely you are innovative, inventive, original, and resourceful. Driven by your talents, you intentionally take steps to be the mastermind of your own future. You refuse to leave you destiny to chance, and definitely resist to putting it in someone else’s hands.” Wow! I like this one…and I think it sounds just like me.
So, what have I learned? I’m an impatient, manipulating, champion of words who has visions of the future that loves to be the ice-breaker in conversations. Is that a good thing?
What have I learned? I’ll never be a quiet and organized analyzer who will tell you what you want to hear in an effort to be “nice”. Sorry. (shoulder shrug) Take me or leave me.
Mad World...Adventures of a Single Mom 