Strengths Finder

Strengths Finder Student Strategies (http://student.gallup.com) 11/20/00

Of 34 strengths, these are my top was:

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 of 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.

(Current reflections 9/10/07)
This attribute is so interesting to revisit. In many ways this characteristic is so ingrained in me that I can't even imagine others not having it. I am always concerned with doing things, getting things done, crossing them off my list, that I automatically assume others will be interested in the same. Not so. There is something called the DISC profile, it's another personality/leadership test of sorts. I fall with a high D and then follow with an I--this achiever business was echoed in that test when I took it last March. Slow and steady wins the race is not my motto, I'm a "get it done and move on" kinda gal. Not that I don't care about the end results, believe me, I do, just that I want things to be accomplished, cross-off-able, so to speak. And yes, this presents serious problems in the ministerial world because a good majority of my work is not about achievement, not measurable achievement anyway, it's about the transformation of persons and the world....and that, my friends, is time intensive!

It's good for me to revisit this type of analysis--I think it helps reign me in a bit, temper my expectations, and reminds me to take some time to breathe and be patient with life.