Strengths

In CPD today, we discussed the results of the CliftonStrengths assessment that we were supposed to have taken prior to class. I'll be honest, I was simultaneously surprised and disappointed with my results. There are a total of 34 strengths, but we only got to see our top 5. Each strength fell into one of four domains: executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. And while getting all of my top 5 strengths in one domain doesn't mean I don't have strengths in the other domains, it still made me feel insecure. All of my results fell into relationship building domain. My strengths were as follows: connectedness, empathy, developer, harmony, and adaptability. I want to believe that all of those are representative of me as I currently am, but I don't know that they are. Rather, I think that it's partly a reflection of who I hope to be.

But then something amazing happened after class. I went to chat with BVT for a little while. We talked about a few different things, but in everything that he said today, there are two things that I will remember for a very long time. One, how he got into his field of pharmacy practice, which is cardiology. And two, that he believes relationships are the important thing. I didn't know that I needed to hear that until he said it. I've lived my whole life basically craving human connection, so much so that it's bothersome to people around me. I have promised myself more than several times over now that in whatever time I have left on this earth that I will genuinely love and care about as many people as humanly possible. There's something very fulfilling about connecting with others around you. One of my favorite things is getting to know people.

Even though all of my strengths according to the CliftonStrengths assessment are in the relationship building domain at this point in time, I still have time to grow. Maybe the next time I take the assessment, I will get a different set of strengths. I'm a work in progress, a painting that is not quite complete, a puzzle that is not yet put together.