What Do I Do Best?

This week I took a pretty cool 120 question assessment about me! This assessment called the high 5 had all sorts of questions, and asked me to rate them on a sliding scale of whether I agreed or disagreed with the questions as they related to me. I found that on a lot of questions I rated myself near the middle, which made sense to me because I usually am a person that doesn’t always have real strong opinions about certain things, and I go with the flow pretty well. At the end of the assessment I got my Hi5. When I saw my results, even thought as I said I felt like I was in the middle a lot, I felt like the five totally made sense. Four of the five I felt like hit me pretty good, the other one I can see why it is in my Hi5, but I am not sure I fully agree with it. In this blog post I am going to look at the five and elaborate on how I agree with them and a little bit of why maybe I disagree mostly with one of them. I am going to take the four I agree most with in the order of my score.

Self Believer- I believe in myself!!

It did not surprise me at all that after the grueling (LOL), 120 questions, that being a Self-Believer came out on top. I have always kinda had a motto that if I can’t count on myself, then who can I count on?! Maybe this is the reason I gave up 2 team sports that I was really good in, baseball and basketball, for golf and tennis in high school? I never really thought of that, but this test makes me think of that possibility. I never really remember being mad at my teammates if I threw a perfect pitch, and the catcher dropped the third strike, or if I threw a perfect pass and a teammate missed a shot. However, maybe a part of me trusted myself to just get the out, or make the shot myself. Maybe I would rather the pressure on me than transferring it to someone I didn’t think could handle it? This test result has opened my eyes that if this is a strength, and I think it is, that I need to use it to thrive, to be more of a leader by actions, to show self-confidence in what I do, and to always make sure that others around me see the belief I have in myself. I need to draw on that to follow my lead when needed whether that is on a team, an academic group, or in the workplace.

Optimist- yes this is me!

In my opinion this should be number one, but as I said I am keeping them in order. I am definitely an optimist and almost all the time this is trait that serves me well. One time I was pitching the final game of a 28 team baseball tourney in Missouri. I was brought in to relieve the starter with a 2-1 lead. The first batter I faced hit the first pitch over the fence. I didn’t get rattled at all, I threw a good pitch, what else could I do? I struck out the next 5 batters, and our team won. Optimism in golf has led me to being confident about the results of my next shot, even when facing adversity. I can‘t tell you how many times either a coach, teammate or my dad has said, are you sure about this shot, and most of the time I will say, yep I got this….that tree isn’t that big! I think sometimes with my optimism I have to at times be better at being a realist. Being optimistic doesn’t mean taking unnecessary risks, to me it means once I have made my decision that I GO FOR IT, without fear of failure.

Winner- what does this mean to me?

I do feel like I thrive in an environment with a winner and a loser, where their is a spirit of competition. I have played sports all my life, and in games, there was always a winner and a loser. It was always more fun to win. In school it seems like I do my best in classes like, speech, and other classes where I have to present something in front of an audience. I think this is because I get that instant feeling that yes, I did it well! I won the moment! I never felt really sorry for teams we beat, this bothered my mom when we would shut a team out, or a team didn‘t get a hit, or maybe when I played with a golfer who couldn’t get one par! I always took the approach of I/we prepared better, practiced harder, or maybe just had more talent and that’s not on us, it’s on the other team. This strength is one I need to take into account in all the work I do, and all the classes I take. When I take a Philosophy test for example, think about how do I win this test. I am a winner but I need to consider this more in other parts of my life, not just on the golf course.

Analyst- is this really me?

This trait came up as number five, more on four later. I was not sure on this one, but in reading the description I do think I am to a point an analytical person. One of the signs of an analyst is looking for simplicity and clarity in data. That is me, when I am faced with a lot of information, I always think, okay what does this really mean? What is the most important part of this. Another analytical trait I have is that I do better when there is a right and wrong answer.. in classes such as Statistics versus Philosophy for example. Being analytical is going to help me make, at times, quick decisive decisions in the workplace one day, but I also need to learn to be more creative and think outside the box. I need to learn to use this strength, but not overlook that often decisions can’t always be data driven.

Empathizer- this isn’t me is it?

When I told my mom last night that my number 4 trait was that I was an empathizer she quickly said that is not you! I know where she is coming from, remember above I said I never felt bad for a loser, I didn’t show empathy for someone I hit with a pitch. If you don’t want to get hit, then don’t play or move quicker. I am not really good at a word pretty similar to empathy, which is sympathy. It is just not me to feel sorry for people that lack preparation, or work ethic, then don‘t achieve their goals. So where did this come from? Why is it number 4 on my strength list? All I can come up with is one thing, I am loyal friend, in fact that may be my number one strength in life! So what I do well is if you are my friend and you need help, I am going to be there for you. I am going to help you on a test, I am going to putt with you, after dark even, to prepare for a tourney the next day, and if you need to throw some baseballs over Christmas break, I am going to go to the gym and play catch with you. All of these are things I have done in the last few months for my friends. So the crossover to empathy is that maybe I am not one that does well if you want to cry on my shoulder, but if you need help and you are down, I will be there to provide that hands on help.

I hope you found my 5 traits as interesting as I did.

I would recommend to you that you try the High 5 questions as well. You may find something about yourself that can help you in your quest for success in life!