Clifton's Strength Finder's Results.

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.



Connectedness

Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.



Responsibility

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.



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.



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.

I should be sleeping...

Thanks Olive for the tips on topics to blog about. =D

Tonight I went to my small group after not having attended for over a month! Things just got crazy after I came back from Seattle. I was either sick, had other plans, or was out of town. I'm glad I finally made it tonight though because I really enjoy the fellowship with the women in my group and am so thankful for them.

I think it's such a blessing how God orchestrates relationships. We're meant to be in relationships with one another to help each other grow and become who we were created to be. I find that God often uses people to speak to our hearts.

This past week I feel that God has really shown me how blessed I am to have the friendships that I do in my life. I am realizing that not everyone has friends who will go beyond themselves for the sake of another. I think deep down we all want to be known. We long for someone to know and understand our inmost parts, for someone to validate the hurts and the injustice that has happened in our lives and for someone to love us past our faults and failures. Honestly, no human being can do that. Only God can. As much as God and the Holy Spirit are in us - at the end of the day we are human and are selfish. And what if we could love like that.. what would God be to us then?

Although I am so thankful at how blessed I am for my friendships - I know at the end of the day that my relationship with God is the one that will never be shaken -the one relationship I never have to 2nd guess and if I ever did, it would be because of my heart's condition and not because God has left me or didn't love me anymore.

This revelation isn't something that has come over night. It is built from years of choosing to walk with God, praying that He would reveal Himself and praying that what the Bible says who God is moves from head knowledge to heart knowledge. It is such a divine gift when God reveals Himself to us because our finite minds can't conceptualize His majesty.

To be continued!

Back in the day...

I was such an avid blogger. I started with livejournal then started several xanga accounts and finally moved here..

but I just feel like I have nothing interesting to say so I don't say anything. I think it's funny because I look at other people's lives and think, "wow, they're so cool!" and then people say the same thing about my life. I don't want to be someone that's not satisfied/thankful for what they've been given.

I digress.