Strengths

I’m going through a course at work called “Discover Your Strengths,” which starts off with a strengths evaluation test. (You can learn more about it at http://www.strengthsfinder.com .) It came up with the following five top strengths for me:

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 because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting…”

Intellection

You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions…the exact focus will depend on your other strengths. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection…

Maximizer.

Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling…Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of strength…And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it towards excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You don’t want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It’s more fun. It’s more productive. And, counterintuitively, it’s more demanding.

Focus

“Where am I headed?” you ask yourself. You ask this question every day. You need a clear destination, or your life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. You instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don’t are ignored. This forces you to be efficient.

Futuristic

You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected onto the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps fulling you forward, into tomorrow. While the exact content of the picture will depend on your other strengths and interests – a better product, a better team, a better life, or a better world – it will always be inspirational to you. You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes these visions. Often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint it for them.

* * * * *

In general I view these things as the touchy-feely equivalent of horoscopes, but this seems to be pretty spot-on. I’m looking forward the class that’s supposed to tell me what to do about it.

Finished the outline last night (it required more rewriting than I expected), and got back in touch with the publisher of River Walk Journal today. she’s going to review my outline and sample chapter and get back to me tonight or tomorrow. Tonight I’m going off for dinner with an old family friend, but tomorrow I plan to start work on the proposal.

I have been reading books on marbling and am really quite interested in it. I don’t think the results will necessarily be appropriate for my crazy quilt (though one never knows), but there appear to be quite a few (and often extremely complex) patterns for the making. I think on Sunday I may try talking my mom into marbling anyway. (The trouble is, during the week I’m spending all my energy writing, and half my weekend is taken up with cycling, so I only have so much time for fiber arts right now.)

Got my final package of goodies from Dharma Trading Co. I’m now ready for just about anything in silk-painting, dyeing, etc. Whee!