My Strengths

I took a strengths test the other day. It was probably the longest strengths test I've taken (it took me about an hour, consisting of a whopping 240 questions). Once I was finished, it gave me which strengths I scored the highest in:

1. Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith
- "You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you."


2. Perspective wisdom
- "Although you may not think of yourself as wise, your friends hold this view of you. They value your perspective on matters and turn to you for advice. You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and to yourself."

3. Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
- "Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind."

4. Gratitude
- "You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks."

5. Capacity to love and be loved
- "You value close relations with others in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you."

I thought the strengths and their descriptions were pretty accurate. I mean, with this test, anyone could get any of the strengths and they would probably say they're accurate. But I feel like the strengths listed here are the ones that are most prevalent for me. Now, I just took this test the other day, so it's gonna be kind of hard for me to think of examples on how I put these into practice since then, but I will do my best.

1. As far as my sense of purpose goes, I definitely used it the most Monday morning, before my voice jury. I was about to sing for all four voice teachers at HSU. This is the final for voice lessons. It's where the voice teachers assess whether you have grown in your singing since the last semester. Even though I am technically a "voice principle," as in, singing is my primary "instrument" in the school of music, singing is not why I'm here. I'm here to write music. I was feeling pretty nervous before the jury began, but I reminded myself that singing was not the most important thing for me. If I did good, then great, and if I didn't do so good, then oh well, it's not like I failed at my dream or anything. My purpose was not to sing - it was to compose. Doing this jury was simply a little step, something very little I had to get through to go towards my real goal. Using my sense of purpose and faith in why I was really here helped take a lot of pressure off of me when I did my jury. And I actually did okay on my jury!

2. Okay, so this one is gonna be kinda sappy! Yesterday, my girlfriend and I were talking, specifically about what we had been through in high school, and what we had struggled with. She told me about how she had opened up to a few people about personal things too quickly. And I told her about how I had struggled with having friends that would open up to me about personal things so I could help them. It was then that I realized that we really were good for each other! She had me to open up to and trust, and I had someone to listen to. I could see why we were so good for each other in that moment even more than before. My "perspective wisdom" showed me the overall picture, and it is also what let my girlfriend see that she could trust me and open up to me when we first got close in the first place.

3. I'll be completely honest, I can't really think of any times since I took the test that I used my Judgement, Critical Thinking, and Open-Mindedness strength. In the past, when it seems like there has been miscommunication between some of my friends, they jump to conclusions, automatically thinking that the other friends were mad at them for some reason. I try to wait and see what the other friends say and get the whole story. Of course, it's very hard to tell sometimes what has actually happened, but I try to keep an open mind throughout and not jump to conclusions, like the strength says.

4. Gratitude is something that I need to use often. Honestly, I sometimes forget. One of the biggest examples of when I am aware of good things that happen to me is when I am exhausted and tired from all the work I have to do for college. It gets pretty annoying when you have so much to do everyday that you basically have no free time throughout the week. But it's during those stressed out times that I try to remind myself that I'm lucky to even be getting stressed from college, because at least I'm in college. There are lots of people out there that wish they could go to college but can't for some reason or other.

5. I think this is a general enough strength that I don't need to cite a specific moment in which it happens. Everything I do with others is with love. I live to love. I came to realize a few years ago that even though music was what I wanted to pursue as a career, loving others was what I was meant to pursue as a Christian. I try to be an example of Christ to others in order to show them the kind of love the Christ has shown me. It's also when I show others love that it's easier to see love that exists in the world amidst the darkness that is highlighted so very often these days. I try to show others that there is still hope in the world and that they can still make a difference.

- Christian