Strengthsfinder 2.0
"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time." Anna Freud
So I picked up a copy of Strengthsfinder 2.0 and took the code from the book and did the online assessment. It seemed like a lot of questions but it did not take long to answer them. It came back with my assessment of my 5 key strengths:
- Context
- Individualization
- Connectedness
- Learner
- Intellection
The book and online aids give out some great information on the strengths it finds you reveal in your answers - and the list of possible strengths is a long one. The answers you pick in combination are used in some complex matrix to come up with the key 5. The way to use them in your teams, work environments, and probably relationships looks to be pretty interesting.
Here's what the expanded explanations were for mine:
11/30/07
Perfect People
"Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you." ~Author Unknown
“We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.” - Tom Robbins
Ah, yes, the perfect lover! The ever elusive soul-mate! How many of us long to find that certain special someone in whom we believe our destiny will finally be fulfilled?
I say it's a bunch of hogwash. Oh, I know, it's just really nice to believe and hope for it. I get it. I really do - and our romance novels, magazines, television shows, and star-filled movies tell us the same thing; there's a special someone for everyone. Someone for everyone? That implies there is just one person who is meant to be for any other person. I say horsepucky!
11/27/07
What Might Have Been
"Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets; then can come the best of benedictions --- 'If I had my life to live over, I'd do it all the same." - Joan MacIntosh
No lie, when I was twenty-two years old I had a Proactive Mid-Life Crisis. Seriously, I'm not kidding! I remember sitting in a park watching butterflies, ants, and lady bugs when I just happened to look around me and saw a fifty year old man who obviously wanted to believe he was still in his thirties. He looked ridiculous. I watched him for a while wondering what he thought he was really gaining; when I realized all he was doing was trying to feel better about the choices he's made in life.
It occurred to me - one day I will be in my fifties and I will very likely have a mid-life crisis. One day I will probably look ridiculous trying to seem hip and youthful. I will most likely try to recapture my youth and try to do things I always wished I had done. Now, of course I couldn't know at the tender age of twenty-two that I would go through such a thing, but based on how many people go through it I figured there was a good enough possibility that I should really give it some thought. I started asking myself what sorts of things might I wish I had done, or done differently, when I looked back over my life in twenty or thirty years.
11/26/07
He's Just Not That Into You
"...when a guy's really into you, he's coming upstairs." - Berger, from HBO's Sex in the City
Does anyone actually want a serious relationship with someone who is not all that into us? I mean, honestly, when is the last time you heard someone ask for that in their boyfriend? I can tell you how often I've heard it - never. So shouldn't we only be dating the ones who actually are interested? The answer is yes - unless we're talking about Meaningless-Sex-Guy and that's a whole different article. So, I think the first order of business is to address how it you actually know if a guy is into you. Allow me to share my thoughts...
You know because he makes it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt. You know because he asked you out almost immediately after meeting you. You know because he made the first move before it ever crossed your mind that you might want him to. You know because you don't have to ask your girlfriends if they think he really "likes you". You know because your phone doesn't stop ringing. But the ultimate tell-tale sign that a guy is off the market because he's really into you? He ditches his buddies to be with you.
04/23/06
The Upside to Lazy
"I like the word `indolence.' it makes my laziness seem classy." - Bern Williams
I admit it. I'm lazy. I'll always find the most efficient way to get something done... not because it can be done better or faster that way - but because by being efficient I have to do less to get it completed.
Yes, if necessity is the mother of invention - then laziness is the grandmother. Efficiency is really just intelligent laziness if you think about it. Why do we have washing machines? Because someone was too lazy to stick with using a washboard and a tub where cleaning clothes took hours of manual labor. Why do we have drying machines? So no one had to sit there and manually spend hours hanging up clothes on a line, checking them, and then taking them down.
The same goes for why we have riding lawn mowers, dish washing machines, grocery stores, and cars. It's all about getting the most done with the least amount of effort.
03/03/06
Infinite Charm
"Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question." - Albert Camus
You've met charming men before, haven't you? Of course you have. We love charming men!
The flash of the smile. The nod of the head. The quick wit. The friendly demeanor. Oh, how they woo us with their wiles and win us whether we will it or not.
You've met stunningly beautiful women before, haven't you? Of course you have. We love beautiful women!
The flash of the smile. The flip of the hair. The sultry looks. The sensual demeanor. Oh, how they woo us with their wiles and win us whether we will it or not.
But there is a difference between beauty and charm. There is a very big difference.
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