Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Strengths

My Top Five Strengths:

Empathy
You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person's perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person's predicament-this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings-to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.

Developer
You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth-a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of "flow" where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments-invisible to some-are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

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.

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.

Arranger
You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible. In your mind there is nothing special about what you are doing. You are simply trying to figure out the best way to get things done. But others, lacking this theme, will be in awe of your ability. "How can you keep so many things in your head at once?" they will ask. "How can you stay so flexible, so willing to shelve well-laid plans in favor of some brand-new configuration that has just occurred to you?" But you cannot imagine behaving in any other way. You are a shining example of effective flexibility, whether you are changing travel schedules at the last minute because a better fare has popped up or mulling over just the right combination of people and resources to accomplish a new project. From the mundane to the complex, you are always looking for the perfect configuration. Of course, you are at your best in dynamic situations. Confronted with the unexpected, some complain that plans devised with such care cannot be changed, while others take refuge in the existing rules or procedures. You don't do either. Instead, you jump into the confusion, devising new options, hunting for new paths of least resistance, and figuring out new partnerships-because, after all, there might just be a better way.



I'm definitely an arranger, because I like to make lists and rearrange them multiple times before getting anything done, just to see if I can finish what I need to any earlier.
I also do like to collect things (Input) like stationery and glass/crystal animals, and just a lot of things that actually mean something and stuff that I like. I also love to travel and learn things about other cultures and use that in other aspects of my life.
I stick strong to what I believe. I love God and that's not going to change.
I like to help people and see them smile. I don't like seeing them upset.
And I'm not so sure about the developer one, but I do like to see people get passionate about something and succeed in it.

Anyway, what do you all think?

-.Shannon.-

20 comments:

Becca said...

The two that realy stood out to me were the "Input" and "Arranger." You're always the one with the colorful pens that you use to take your notes. You're the one with the cool poems all over the place. I see you as being the kind of person who would enjoy some trinket not just because it's "cute" or something, but because it means something.

Anonymous said...

I see a lot of arranger in you. In all the years I've known you, you've always had lists of things you need to do...this made you more felxible because you were not so much worried about a time settign it needed to be finished in, just that all of the items needed to be crossed off the list. it helped you to be open to more things but also realistic of what you could and could not do.
Empathy is another one that is totally you. You alwaysy knew when something was going on in my life or heart, and it was just a matter of me opening up and sharing with you. But you always show empathy or are honest when you don't know what that sistuation feels like. Thanks for lifting me up when I needed it the most Shanny!

Anonymous said...

okay shan...first off i'm crying right now because reading all of those things makes me think about all the reasons why you are my best friend. and second i get to take this same test in two weeks :) so then we can see my strengths too. so i guess i'll just start @ the very beginning and work my way down the list.
empathy: that little paragraph just screams shannon to me. the best example that i can give you about how your empathy really stands out to me is my whole situation with jason. i'm sure that you didn't agree with the way i acted about him and how i basically changed my entire self to be with him, yet you stood by me. you understood why i was acting that way, and even if you wanted to smack me in the face and tell me to wake up you didn't you let me learn from my own actions and you let me grow up. you always seem to know what i'm thinking and the questions i'm going to ask you before i ask them and somehow someway you ALWAYS know the right thing to say to me.
developer: YOU WANT TO BE A TEACHER. need i say more? :P
belief: you have the absolute best relationship with God that i have ever witnessed. and even if you might question it sometimes somehow you always find a way to come back to Him. you truly are the example of someone living for Him and it is absolutely incredible.
input: your room has QUOTES written all over the walls. you collect thoughts and you put them on paper. in the words of mr. seckington when we traveled you were the only one in the group who truly appreciated the travel, and the new places and things that you got to soak up and learn about.
arranger: PLAN OF ATTACK :) we're the same way in this one babe. regardless of the fact that you're messy you really have things so together and its so admirable. everything always has to be just right or it just won't do.

so i just wrote A LOT but thats cool. you're my bestest friend & i'm allowed to write a lot. but yeah i love you so much shan. i wouldn't want anyone else to know me the way that you do. i love that we're so different and yet so similar @ the same time. love you miss. should be interesting where my strengths fall :) i'll let you know asap. love you miss. can't wait to see you

Anonymous said...

heyyy shan!
ok the ones that remind me most of you are belief and input. i think belief is pretty self explanatory. you're the most religious of all of my friends and stick to those beliefs no matter what the situation. even when people give you crap about it [cough*david&greg*cough] you stayed strong. input reminds me of you because everything you have seems to tell a story and be somehow important in your life, whether it be big or small.

hope this helps a bit. <3 you shan! miss you toooo

Anonymous said...

they all seem to hit the spot mama. you embody empathy. you may not agree with someones views but you will stand by them no matter what or who they are if you believe in them. YOU ARE DEFINITELY a developer. you always cheer people on and you definitely take so much pleasure in watching people succeed in life. Also, belief? Is that seriously even a question. your relationship and belief in god is as tangible as the wooden table my computer is on. Your belief and faith define you and thats how you have always been. Input and arranger go hand in hand. You have always loved poems, words, quotes and such as long as i have known you, and you most definitely have been able to collect quite a few of these throw the times.

you are what you make yourself my love! have all the fun and faith and life you can possess.

I hope this helped you out!
Love always
max

Anonymous said...

yeah, those all pretty much sound like you. Especially the arranger bit, that's why you were the secretary for FCA. You're the one who can take all the random ideas we would throw out and put them together so that made some kind of sense. I definitely see the empathy too because you're great about knowing how someone's feeling and standing alongside them

Danny said...

empathy...its the essence of who you are. its why you have the friends you do. its why you are the friend you are. its the fact that you can love people when they do wrong, and somehow lovingly show them the right way to go.

developer...this is very closely linked to empathy. one of my definitions for love is that "you seek to find the potential in a person and desire more than anything else in the world to help them bring it out." you are all about understanding people's decisions and helping them develop personally, emotionally and spiritually. it is most definitely fulfilling to you.

belief...this is your number one strength. you love God. you are His. your belief in Him is what makes you strive to have all these other traits be strengths in your life. its not just what you believe but the fact that you live out your beliefs every day of your life.

input...what would the life of shannon be without input? you get your packratness from mom and dad and that says a lot about you because you care about the little things. you care about the nuances of life that so many people overlook. these are the memoribilia that you hold on to. they arent just tangible things. they are experiences. they are lessons that are stuck in your head so that when you face, or your friend faces, a similar situation you are armed and ready to deal with it.

arranger...this is why youre the only one in the family who uses a mac. it streamlines your life. it, like you, finds the most effective and efficient way to do things.

well here's my take on things. hope it helps.

Anonymous said...

I think the one i see the most in you is empathy. You always seem to know and understand what someones going through. for example, you understand what i feel about my parents. Which a lot of my friends, especially the ones my age, dont seem to understand. I also think developer fits you, because your friends with like everyone. and i think you become friends with them so fast, because you want to help them. And your also always willing to listen.

Anonymous said...

i totally agree with everything about empathy!!!! its you!! you are sooo aware of everyone around u and their feelings. u r so willing to help and u see a different perspective!!! u r sooo easy to talk to!!! and u DO have all the right things to say!! belief of course is true because being a Christian is a core part of who we are. THE CORE of who we are and what we do. life isnt about us anymore. its about GOd. input: i definitely see u as a collector.. i remember comming into ur room and seeing a million stuffed animals lolololololol and journals!!!! i dont really get what the arranger is saying but if its saying perfectionist i would agree. i dont know if i agree with the developer. i think i remember u telling me that u would confront your close friends and you can tell them anything even if they dont want to hear it but its not easy for u to do that with people that arent your best friends. so i would say u r definitely a developer to people close to u but not necessarily to those not as close. let me know what u think!! and if u think im totally off or right on! lol love u!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Since I have met you and gotten to know you and am still getting to know you i have seen Empathy in you. often when we talk I can just see this in you based upon your reactions and words spoken during conversations and during certain situations. This is the one I see the most in you though I do see others as well like arranger. These are evident in just your everyday life and I have already seen you use these for good. Continue to use your strengths!

God Bless,
Shauna

Anonymous said...

the one strength that stood out to me in your blog was belief. since i have gotten to know you, i have really seen you stand up for what you think is true or right, no matter what it is. this is a really awesome strength to have, and i hope that when you use it you can help others see who God is.

-Eric

john said...

I can see a lot of belief in you. I can think of several instances from our conversations where you clearly expressed strong belief about your faith in Gods plan for your life. You really seem to have a firm foundation, and that is really cool.
-john

becky peterson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
becky peterson said...

I really see empathy in you because I can tell taht you are always concerned with how others are feeling around you and whether everyone is comfortable. you seem like the kind of person that can read others emotions very easily and you know just what to say to make them feel at ease about the situation.

your.favorite.blonde said...

I love that you have empathy!! that is such a unique strength! We need more people like you in this world!! :-)

KenAPU said...

I don't know you to well yet however if i really had to pick one that was really you i would definitely think you were an empathetic person. you can really use this strength to help the group i look forward to you develop it more...

Anonymous said...

alright, shannon. so no doubt...arranger is one of your biggest strengths. After being in your room those couple of times, I can totally see how you are an arranger. Everything is arranged, even your notebooks full of poems. Well I also see empathy in you, which is also one of my strengths...so it's nice that we share that and that we're prayer partners. ya know if either one of us isn't being so forward with our emotions or thoughts, we'd both be able to sense it and understand each others feelings.

Abby Bowman said...

I can totally see input in you as you collect things. Even though many collections might be actual objects, I can see this strength even in your collection of poetry and thoughts like that. Keep collecting and ARRANGING them all. luv ya

mspeed said...

i definitely see pretty much all of these qualities in you! you definitely are an empathizer, and you are very much an arranger. i have talked to you a lot and in those talks i always notice that when you believe something, you stick to it and almost nothing can sway you. that is a great quality to have and you have it in abundance!

-Maurie

Jeremiah Urlaub said...

I feel that you have shown enough self confidence to be honest with others even when they may not want to hear the truth. That is a very good quality and so I can see how you would have input as a strength.

Its hard for me to honestly say how I have seen other strengths. However, I know you are a good listener so I can see how empathy is one of your strengths. Normally good listeners are empathetic.