I’m an activator. It’s what I do. With all of the hype that I’ve been hearing about regarding StrengthsQuest, I decided to go back and take a deeper look at my results from the beginning of the year. I vaguely remembered them from the beginning of the year but thought it was worth taking a more in-depth look. This is probably the first of many posts on StrengthsQuest.The one that resonated with me the most was “Activator” because I see myself in this role every day.
Activators are impatient… or at least that’s what the description says. While this may be true (and for me it is) and can be viewed as a negative trait, I’m choosing to view this as a positive one. I’m impatient. I grow tired of waiting for things to happen so I do my best to make things happen. I enjoying making things happen because I like the challenge of doing something new. It leads to me taking on new projects, going new places, and trying things that I never have before. It’s how I develop professionally, personally, and academically. If I see something that needs to be done, I’ll take on the task and work my way through it (thanks to my accomodating learning style).
I’m lucky to be in a supportive learning environment both at my assistantship and in my program. I am surrounded by individuals that encourage me to explore this strength and support me when it doesn’t work out for the best.
Like anything, this strength can also be a weakness. I have to hold back because too much activating can drain a person’s energy. I’m thankful to have individuals like @audrey_cloum (follow her… she’s awesome) in my life to stop me before I get too overwhelmed activating things all over the place. Only with awareness of this aspect can I avoid a “fire, aim, ready” perspective to become intentional about the things that I’m doing.
“The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
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