Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It’s back to school time here in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. This always seems like a good time for a fresh start. I think a new school year probably runs second only to New Year’s Day when it comes to people thinking about how they want to change their lives in the upcoming months. This is the first fall that neither of my kids are going to school. Kid #1 has graduated from college and #2 is taking a bit of a gap year. That doesn’t mean I didn’t peruse the Back to School aisles and get myself some new Staedtler Fineliners or Papermate Flair pens. I love new pens!
Getting new pens did prompt me to think about going back to school. I love going to school. I love it so much that I took 21 years to get my bachelor’s degree and attended six different colleges. In all seriousness though, I thrive on learning. This is one reason that I read so much, especially non-fiction, including so many Self Help books. If I don’t feel like I’m learning, I start to feel like I’m suffocating. If you want to see me unhappy, just do something to hinder my learning. My brain has done this to me the past several months by making me forget stuff. Very frustrating. I used to remember everything. It’s getting harder. I guess this stuff happens when you get past (*cough*) — a certain age.
Even though I didn’t list Learning when I wrote about my core values, it definitely qualifies as one of the things I need in my life to be Authentic, Balanced, and Connected. It’s a fundamental part of who I am. It defines me so much that it comes up over and over. Have you ever taken a strengths assessment? I love to take them, because I love to learn more about myself. I have taken several, and they always hone in on my love of learning. Here are just a couple of examples.
Strengthsfinder 2.0
I have taken this assessment three times. It gives your top five strengths and suggests ways to focus them. It also tells you how to work with people who have various strengths. When you buy the book you get a code that allows you to take the online assessment. As a result, you get your top five strengths. Naturally, everyone wonders what their “worst strengths” are, because we have been conditioned to focus on our weaknesses, but you have to pay extra if you want to see how you ranked on the whole list. By taking the assessment three times, I know my top eight, because a few of mine rotate in and out of the top five. Two of mine that are always in the top: Input and Learner. Basically, I love to accumulate information, and I have a great desire to learn. I probably knew this about myself before Strengthsfinder, but I am not sure I viewed it as one of my top strengths. I would have said it’s just who I am. I am naturally that way. It’s no big deal. I also might have assumed that other people love to learn as much as I do. They don’t necessarily, so this is something that sets me apart. It’s something special about me. That’s good to know.
My top 5 strengths from Strengthsfinder:
- Input
- Connectedness
- Strategic
- Learner
- Ideation
VIA Character Strengths
Another assessment I have taken is the VIA Character Strengths test. VIA stands for Values in Action. This test is awesome because it is free. It is also a little different because it focuses on your strengths as character traits and rolls them up under six virtues. It’s always good to feel like you are a virtuous person with lots of character, right? Especially when you are focusing on the areas of your life where you excel. So I like this one. I like it so much that I write my top five strengths from this assessment in my planner each week. Also, my five strengths fall into only three of the virtues, with three of my five belonging to the same one. Interesting. As you see, Learning is front and center here.
My top 5 strengths from VIA Character Strengths with their respective virtues:
- Love of Learning (Wisdom)
- Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence (Transcendence)
- Humor (Transcendence)
- Gratitude (Transcendence)
- Love (Humanity)
Back to School
If you aren’t going back to school this fall, I hope you might take this as a reminder to set some new goals and focus on your strengths. You might not love learning as much as I do, and that’s okay. I guess. But I would recommend learning more about yourself by taking one of these assessments. If you take one of these or have taken a different one, please leave a comment and share your strengths. Did you learn something new about yourself?