My Strengths
From the StrengthFinder Software
Restorative
“You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it.
You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factor(s), eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this thing—this machine, this technique, this person, this company—might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it.”
It isn’t a shock that this was my number one strength. When it comes to problems, I love to solve them as it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Feeling accomplished gives me confidence, which allows me to take on any problem with the belief that I can solve it, no matter how challenging it may be. With this being said, fixing issues is a natural sense of mine as I feel like it has a strong relationship with being restorative. Since my motivation comes from being told I can't do something and then overcoming it, this idea is embedded in my leadership values.
Relator
“Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people—in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends—but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk—you might be taken advantage of—but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.”
I related well to the idea that I’m a relator. Meeting new people is hard for me because I am afraid, they won't appreciate what I have to offer, but I do feel that if a relationship is formed, it can be fruitful. I enjoy relationships that are strong because they’re formed off ideas that are authentic, meaning that the relationship is real. I do get fearful that a relationship that is too strong is too good to be true, but it’s something that I have to risk if I want to keep the relationship alive. Relationships are something that I treasure when taking on a role of leadership.
Achiever
“Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.”
I’ve learned to be an achiever because I always want the best out of myself. Whenever I don’t perform well on an exam or in a competitive event, I’m the first one to always give myself criticism, not my teachers, coaches, or teammates. This idea, however, brings more benefit than negativity to my life because people who give me tasks know that I’m going to give it my all every time. Even when I finish a task, I’m always thinking of how I can improve for next time as I always look forward to a new challenge. The feeling of accomplishment I feel when I achieve is unlike anything else in my life.
Belief
“If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics—both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. “I know where you stand,” they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.”
This idea is something that I learned when growing up. In terms of beliefs, I tend to hold common beliefs for everyone, but I also hold some beliefs for specific individuals. As I have a lot of beliefs, it makes my life more interesting since most days I do the same thing, but having different beliefs allows me to think of ideas I wouldn't normally think of. The beliefs I hold dear give my life more meaning and enable me to live my best life.
Responsibility
“Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.”
I felt like this would’ve have been higher on my list, but I’m glad it’s still one of my top strengths. I learned responsibility after being in the Boy Scouts as the organization allowed me to see that responsibility is needed if any project is going to be done successfully. When it comes to responsibility, I take it seriously as I feel like if I’m given a project, I need to get it done, no matter what the situation is. For groups that aren't going to pull their wait, I will pull it for them, because I want to make the person, I am doing the work for proud. It is my goal to be someone that people will come to for a project and know that the work will be top-notch.