I’ve never been one to get super caught up in personality tests. Not that they aren’t super interesting, because they totally are! But typically the results of my BuzzFeed quizzes get me more excited than my results from personality tests like the Enneagram or Myer’s Briggs. However, after taking the Clifton Strengths test, I became so excited about who I was and who I was becoming. I saw myself in these five strengths. As it turns out, you learn a lot about yourself when you leave home and start life on your own in a new place surrounded by new people, except for me it was a lot easier to point out to myself what I needed to improve upon rather than appreciating areas in which I was thriving. Seeing my top five strengths right in front of me opened my eyes, and it gave me valuable insight into where God is calling me, and where he is challenging me as well.
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.
I fully believe that neither myself nor anyone else is finished yet, and this connects to me seeing great potential in people. I love walking with people in their journeys and being able to see them grow.
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.
A prayer that I find myself repeating is, “Heavenly Father, break my heart for what breaks yours.” I definitely anticipate the need. I like to think I hear the unvoiced questions. And I like to think I am in touch enough with my emotions to voice them well and help others voice them too.
Adaptability
You live in the moment. You don’t see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don’t resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.
I haven’t always been this way. But after a senior year of planning for college and ending up at the one school I had no plans to be at, I’ve learned to release my tight grip I have over my own life. Yes, of course I have plans to an extent. It’s almost impossible not to make them. But I expect them to change. I don’t cling to them. I can’t; it ruins me every time I do.
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.
I don’t believe in coincidences. I don’t understand the reasoning behind everything, but I believe in the God with a plan. I believe in community. I believe that no man is an island and that we weren’t meant to live this life alone.
Restorative
You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factor(s), eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this thing—this machine, this technique, this person, this company—might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it.
Praising my Heavenly Father for loving to bring things back to life. What a beautiful quality he has placed in me to love to restore things to their true glory. I have never thought about solving problems in this way, but now I see my Savior through this quality, and all these qualities, more than I ever have.
Ellie Proctor 