What are your strengths? StrengthsFinder

From the archives….

Consider this PERSONAL GROWTH MONDAY.  There isn’t a better way to start the week, right?

What if someone could give you a test, an assessment, and after that quiz, you could focus on being the BEST YOU you could POSSIBLY be?

I took that test.  It was LIFE CHANGING.  I’m NOT kidding you!   It was a test that told me THESE are the things that are my talents, and THESE are the things that are my weaknesses.  And it’s how I’m wired, how I’m made.  It’s my unique DNA.   And it will never change.  It’s who I AM.  And that’s different than you, you, you, you, you and YOU.

This is a little bit of a deeper post, but it’s one I’d LOVE for you to stick with me here and read through the things I have to share with  you becuase this information SERIOUSLY can be life changing to you as it was me.

It revolves around this book…

StrengthsFinder 2.0  …  and one of my dear friends Rhonda, who is spearheading this “movement” in my area.

First. let me begin by saying this.  You will HEAR this information and GET IT only if you are at a point in your life that you would be and could be OPEN to GROWING.  This is all about PERSONAL GROWTH.  If you’re not at that point, you’ll read this, or not, and move on to the other long list of things you’ll read today and go about your day.  I can say this because that is what happened to me.  I heard this a while ago but only LISTENED recently.

So let me tell you a SUPER brief overview because no one wants to read PARAGRAPHS of this stuff, so a synopsis is what I’ll do for you.

The StrengthsFinder says this:  Basically, we’re ALL made up of about 34 talents, and they are ranked from how much they are in us, from strongest to weakest.  The top 5 are your core talents, and the rest fall below that, in order from strongest to weakest.  We are who we are because of how we developed as children, our upbringing, how we were raised, our life experiences, how we took things in, how we did things, how we dealt with circumstances, and as we matured into adults, all those things helped MOLD us.  Well, THIS is YOUR LIFE.  This is who YOU are.  THAT is what makes each and every one of use SO unique.  Think about it…. You are not like your siblings or like your parents or your best friends.  Each one of us is “coded” differently from all the little things that made us who we are in the growing process.

Here’s my personal code (my top five) {wink!}:

Yeah, intellection right??? Big mouth ME?  Intellection??? HA!

Now, that brings us to YOUR STRENGTHS.  So what does any of this mean?  Well, very simple.  I want you to GET THIS.

DONT FOCUS ON WHAT YOU’RE NOT GOOD AT.  FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT AND GET BETTER AT THEM.  FOCUS ON UTILIZING YOUR TOP 5 TALENTS TO DEVELOP THEM INTO AMAZING STRENGTHS AND FORGET ABOUT THE THINGS AT THE BOTTOM THAT YOU’RE NOT TALENTED IN…. because guess what?  You’re NEVER going to be good at it!

Think about it….

Let me give you an example:

I blog.  You know that. Many bloggers use an editorial calendar.  Highly reccommended that they do.  Will help them keep focus, organization, and have a plan in mind.  As MUCH as I’ve tried to do that, I CAN’T.  Plain and simple.  I’ve tried OVER and OVER again.  I truly write BEST when it’s fresh for me.  I don’t have the discipline.  I NEVER have!  LIGHTBULB!!!  Once I saw that in the TEST, I had a HUGE ah-ha moment!!!  So I LET IT GO and RELEASED it and finally became forgiving on myself.  And guess what?  I’m MUCH happier now!

Make sense?

Here’s one more…  One of my top 5 is COMMUNICATOR.  Guess what I have discovered I love doing?  I love to WRITE!  And of course you all KNOW I love to talk! HA! but seriously…. since I’ve been blogging, I feel like I’m on the path I’m SUPPOSED to be on.  YOWZA!  It NAILED me!

Got it????

So, back to my first statement….

If someone told you they could show you how to be the best YOU you could be, wouldn’t you say SHOW ME?

Gallup administers the StrengthsFinder test online (which speaks OODLES of credibility on this whole thing).  Their goal is one billion people to take the test, and so far, less than 10 million have taken it. We’re on the cutting edge!  I bet you’re going to hear more and more about this… you can say you heard it here FIRST! {wink!}

Why not lead with your STRENGTHS?  If you’re already WIRED that way, why not be AMAZINGLY AWESOME that way!

Here’s where my friend Rhonda comes into all this.

You can simply take a test and be like, “hmmm.  ok.  cool beans.”  and that’s it.  OR… You can take a test, and ENGAGE more with it.

How?

Well, Rhonda has been working with StrengthsFinder for several years and is now putting together workshops where she can teach a few more things above and beyond what the book says.  {things like this that we can role play and really “see and hear it” seem to sink in better, don’t ya think?}  I got to take this mini workshop along with the test with about 15 other like-minded peeps to learn about all the 34 talents, learn how to see it in my life, in a good way, in a bad way, how to see others, how to engage with them, situations, all kinds of amazing things!

What did I get out of it?

• clarity on who I am, what makes me tick, being able to focus on the things I’m good and and LETTING GO of the things I’m NOT good at, and truly ACCEPT me for who I am
• the ability to see how other’s tick and how I best interact and relate with them
• the ability to see how I can resource out those things that I’m NOT good at!
• how to interact with other people now that I KNOW and can identify certain qualities
• how to understand and communicate better with The Mister {wink!}
• how to be a better parent by identifying my children’s talents and focusing on their inner greatness
• how to focus on things that I know I can be GREAT at

It’s about growing ME into a better me and enhancing my relationships with others.

Sign me up for that!  YES!  I’m ALL IN!  You can get the book, but I encourage you to go beyond that.  Seriously.  If you want to learn more and live in the Oklahoma City area, hop over HERE for info on the test and workshop.  SO worth it, I PROMISE!!  If you’re not in the Oklahoma City area, NO problem!  Connect with her HERE.

How’s that to get your week of on the right foot?

{winks!}

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