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Who you are guides what you do and what you are looking for

Admittedly, this title is not going to get me a Pulitzer prize, but just check it out. I just completed the Strengths Finder 2.0 survey, from Gallup. This survey is a set of 177 questions, where you need to define your position on a range between two assertions each time.

At the end, you get a list of five “natural strengths” among a set of 34. My results just came out: Ideation, Restorative, Activator, Communication, Intellection. In simple terms, it means that I have a lot of ideas that I use to solve problems, that I am better at getting started and more comfortable when everything is confusing than closing when everything is clear, that I talk, write, and draw a lot to share ideas and that I spend way too much time in my head .

Now, what is the link with the title, will you ask? Well, there you go. Ting is very different from me. She doesn’t have 132 new ideas everyday. She doesn’t need to. She picks the good ones and follows through. Her journal/scheduler is her best friend. She has had a Franklin Covey 3-ring binder for years, and can track everything to the minute. Me, on the other hand, would never get a scheduler under control – and yes I tried, time and time again; but my favorite tools enable me to jot down, and link ideas to one another. My best friends are Moleskine notebooks, bookmarks, tagging and note-taking tools, white boards and post-its…

As you can see, it is just a quick idea. Nothing big. But just think about the impact. If who you are drives the tools you use, the things you looking for, then becoming aware of these gives you an insight about who you are. The tools you use most are obviously saying a lot about who you are, even unconsciously. So, a good way to know yourself better, if it is at all your interest, is to audit yourself this way: what tools are you using? what are you reading? listening to? watching? This is a great way to see if you put your hours where your goals or dreams are.

Why care? Because the better you know yourself, the better you will distinguish the situations to seek from the ones to avoid. You will spend your time on the right endeavors and will hone your strengths by practicing them. You will also get less frustrated because trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

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