>> Finding my strengths

Results are in. I took the Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 online test, it took 30minutes and it is ridiculously accurate!

My top 5 strengths

From the 34 attributes, the below came out as my top 5:

• Achiever – great deal of stamina and hard worker (below).
• Strategic – especially talented in creating alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
• Learner – great desire to learn and want to continuously improve.
• Restorative – adept and dealing with problems. Good at finding out what is wrong and fixing them.
• Belief – have certain core values that are unchanging. These define the purpose of life.

So what does that mean and how do I harness these strengths? I’m not quite sure yet but I will share with you my journey of discovery, trials and insights.

Strength #1: Achiever

What does it mean? 

According to Clifton StrengthsFinder, “people strong in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.”

What can I do to leverage this?

• Pick a job where I can work as hard as I want and measure my productivity. I will feel alive in these environments.
• List of tangible outcomes and being able to make them as ‘done’.
• Continue my education and attain certifications – giving me more goals to achieve.
• Set more demanding goals every time I finish a project. Take advantage of my self-motiviation. Partner with other hard workers. They can help me get more done.
• More work excites me. Launch initiatives and new projects. My endless reserve of energy will create enthusiasm and momentum.

Don’t forget to:

• Celebrate achievements. I tend to move to the next thing quickly.
• Add personal achievements i.e. goals for family and friends, this will help me direct my talents accordingly

My Commitment

It took me a while to get my head around adding a personal goal in to my ‘to do’ list. I always thought I do this naturally and it shouldn’t be just another thing to do, but on reflection I need to get better at this.

Every day I have a list of  things to complete, and I make sure I get them all done. Most of the time this leaves little to no room for personal things such as calling my parents, seeing my family and friends.

In the 7 Habits of Highly, Stephen R. Covey made me paint such a vivid image of my funeral that always appears when I reflect on my decisions. The fond memories and relationships with my family and friends are the most important things in my life. I always think they will always be there and will be understanding… I need to keep remembering to appreciate. They may not be here tomorrow.

My commitment going forward is to include at least 1 personal activity in my list every day. Yes, EVERY DAY! I want to let everyone close to me know just how much I love them.