Thursday, March 15, 2007

Is this what I look like?


Communication
You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information-whether an idea, an event, a product's features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson-to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.


Input
You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information-words, facts, books, and quotations-or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don't feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It's interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.


Adaptability
You live in the moment. You don't see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn't mean that you don't have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don't resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.


Connectedness
Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life's mysteries.


Harmony
You look for areas of agreement. In your view there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum. When you know that the people around you hold differing views, you try to find the common ground. You try to steer them away from confrontation and toward harmony. In fact, harmony is one of your guiding values. You can't quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their views on others. Wouldn't we all be more productive if we kept our opinions in check and instead looked for consensus and support? You believe we would, and you live by that belief. When others are sounding off about their goals, their claims, and their fervently held opinions, you hold your peace. When others strike out in a direction, you will willingly, in the service of harmony, modify your own objectives to merge with theirs (as long as their basic values do not clash with yours). When others start to argue about their pet theory or concept, you steer clear of the debate, preferring to talk about practical, down-to-earth matters on which you can all agree. In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show that you can.

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Our church has small groups right now going through the book: Living Your Strengths. You go to the web site, enter in your personal code & take a questionnaire. Then it calculates/generates, based on your answers, your top 5 strengths.

The questions were kinda tricky...you had to click on which answer described you best.....oooookkkk. But they were like: "I like to relax" on one end then "I am organized" on the other end. Couldn't you be equally both? But if you choose to many 'nuetrals' as your answers...then what? kwim?

I thought I would have more 'thinking themed' characteristics. Communication---I won't argue w/ that one. It's pretty obvious. lol I'll take Input, although begrudgingly. I've never thought of being a pack-rat as a strength! :p I'll agree w/ Adaptability for this time in my life. Connectedness is iffy....Harmony? What the heck? I don't see it but whatever. I italicized the parts that I can clearly see in myself right now, in each definition.

I thought I'd have Analytical, Learner or Intellection or maybe even Empathy. So that is interesting????

What I do like about the book is that it gives you suggestions on how you can use your strengths in ministry. DS & I cracked up over "connectedness"...it said start a recycling program in your church. If you know me IRL you know why that is SO funny! I do recycle AND I am ALWAYS commenting on how people are just throwing recycleables away, I am ALWAYS commenting on one way to 'earn $$$' is to recycle. (like to the youth for youth camps & stuff lol)

I LOVE taking personality tests & quizzes to that is cool. I also understand that strengths can change as you develop in different areas of your life ect, so I can see where/how adaptability is 1 of my top 5 right now, specefically relating to DH job & schedule.

I hope this has a positive affect on our church community. There has been some confusion within the congregation, between strengths, talents, skills, gifts & even spiritual gifts. Hopefully it will get ironed out to those who are confused.

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