StrengthsQuest

Everyone who went to Bethel got to take "Introduction to Liberal Arts," and had the opportunity to take some sort of strength finder test.  I never got to take said test, because I got to opt out of that course, having entered college with 18 credits.  Sure, there are personality tests available all over the internet, but most of them are lame and not developed by personality psychologists.  The really good ones cost money.  Which is why I've never taken a really good one until now.  My new job gave me a unique code to take one of these tests called StrengthsQuest, and I thought some of you out there might be interested in my results.  The test was about 45 minutes long, and my results have been broken down into 5 personality strengths.  I have highlighted things I found especially true.
(Sorry that some of this is weirdly spaced.)



Deliberative
You are careful. You are vigilant. You are a private person. You know that the world is an unpredictable place. Everything may seem in order, but beneath the surface you sense the many risks. Rather than denying these risks, you draw each one out into the open. Then each risk can be identified, assessed, and ultimately reduced. Thus,you are a fairly serious person who approaches life with a certain reserve. For example, you like to plan ahead so as to anticipate what might go wrong. You select your friends cautiously and keep your own counsel when the conversation turns to
personal matters. You are careful not to give too much praise and recognition, lest it
be misconstrued. If some people don’t like you because you are not as effusive as
others, then so be it. For you, life is not a popularity contest. Life is something of a minefield. Others can run through it recklessly if they so choose, but you take a different approach. You identify the dangers, weigh their relative impact, and then place your feet deliberately. You walk with care.




Learner
You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined byyour other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always bedrawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey
from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to
recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill
mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engagein adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enablesyou to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on shortproject assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in ashort period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”



Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need forachievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you mustachieve 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 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.



Intellection
You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a
slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.




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 andcomplexity. 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 becauseeach 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.