Wednesday, September 26, 2007

iBelieve

My top 5 strengths....

Includer
"This is the philosophy around which you orient your life. You want to include people and make them feel part of the group. In direct contrast to those who are drawn only to exclusive groups, you actively avoid those groups that exclude others. You want to expand the group so that as many people as possible can benefit from its support. You hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in. You want to draw them in so that they can feel the warmth of the group. You are an instinctively accepting person. Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality or faith, you cast few judgments. Judgments can hurt a person's feelings. Why do that if you don't have to? Your accepting nature does not necessarily rest on a belief that each of us is different and that one should respect these differences. Rather, it rests on your conviction that fundamentally we are all the same. We are all equally important. Thus, no one should be ignored. Each of us should be included. It is the least we all deserve."
--I definitely love people, and I love being around them and making everyone feel happy, so I can see how Includer would describe me. I feel as if I am instinctively accepting, maybe just because I know how it feels to be on the outside, as well as the inside...So I try to help out where I can.

Positivity:
"You are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation. Some call you lighthearted. Others just wish that their glass were as full as yours seems to be. But either way, people want to be around you. Their world looks better around you because your enthusiasm is contagious. Lacking your energy and optimism, some find their world drab with repetition or, worse, heavy with pressure. You seem to find a way to lighten their spirit. You inject drama into every project. You celebrate every achievement. You find ways to make everything more exciting and more vital. Some cynics may reject your energy, but you are rarely dragged down. Your Positivity won't allow it. Somehow you can't quite escape your conviction that it is good to be alive, that work can be fun, and that no matter what the setbacks, one must never lose one's sense of humor."
--Now THIS is how I would describe myself! I ry to live my life to help people and make them happier...maybe just the world in general. Always happy, always love. What else is there to really say?

Woo:

"Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don't. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet-lots of them."
--Exactement! I love meeting new people, and I'd like to think I'm a personable girl. I say that not in arrogance, but just out of knowledge that I am extremely extroverted and I force people to like me.

Input:
"
You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information-words, facts, books, and quotations-or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don't feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It's interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable."
--This is me...I suppose. I do like learning new things, but this strength doesn't necessarily take my laziness into account. Although whenever approached with a question, I am one to bust out the wikipedia article and offer the best answer that I can, because usually I am genuinely interested as well.


Communication:
" You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information-whether an idea, an event, a product's features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson-to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act."
--I talk, people listen. That's the way it works. This is kind of ironic, I guess I didn't read this through the first time, but in my ASB interview today I definitely explain that I'm not one to really come up with the ideas, but rather to execute them, as this strength actually explains. Neato.

I'm not gonna lie...If positivity didn't come up, I'd have to seriously re-evaluate myself:)

9 comments:

Danilovesyou said...

Aly, I think a lot of these things fit you but I hate to break it to you but the positivity one is not the one that i read and thought OH ALY. I actually think the Woo one describes you the most. As much as you always say that you're always happy and always positive, that isn't entirely true. I think you love the idea of always being happy, and convey that to people on the outside, but you're not. Maybe only people who know you really well like I do would understand this, but you actually can be very pessimistic. Just sometimes you do let things drag you down, don't tell me i'm wrong, because i'm the one you talk to about it, haha. Think about the fact that you can never actually do the "robot" thing. It's because you do let things get to you. However, overall you are a very happy and positive person.
I think 'woo' describes you soooo well. I mean think about how we met, if you weren't like that, we probably never would have become friends. I love how at ease you are with people you don't really know. So many of my other friends when put in situations when they don't know the people we are with just get awkward and shy, but you Aly just start talking to everyone. Like at my family party, haha you just started asking people if they liked your new jeans and what they thought of your toe nails. I love it. You can meet anyone anywhere and MAKE them remember you. :)

Jolene said...

I can see how you have Includer as one of your strengths. I know you love people and "expanding the circle", but I don't think you do out of your way to find new people to bring in to the group. Now positivity is something that you have sometimes, but it's not something screaming your name. Woo is your strongest! You are such a people person, and you're always meeting new people. Woo is your #1 strength, in my opinion. Input, I don't know if I really see any of that really evident in your everyday life. And then Communication is also a really strong one of yours! You do the carrying-out of an idea, and love to get people involved. Exactly why I told you the other night you would be perfect for ASB!

The best thing about this is that you and I have 4/5 of the same strengths. Precisely why we're best friends :)

Rheanna Lea Cline said...

Aly Larson. I'm commenting on your blog, partly because psych is sooo incredibly boring and partly because I like you lots.
So. In your other post, you said you're funny, loud, and awkward, and you love to dance. Seriously, dude, I love that. That is who you are. I love it. But anyway. I've known you for, what, like 3 weeks now? And already I can see how all of these strengths are a part of you, but especially woo and communication. Woo because even before you got to APU, basically everyone knew who Aly Larson from Facebook was. And communication because when you talk, people listen. I don't think I will ever forget the time when you told me and Jaclyn about the night Ryan died and all the stuff that happened after. It made me think about stuff so much and it made me want to know you better. That is complete proof that you have a gift to say things in a powerful way.
Basically I really hope our friendship gets bigger and bigger because I love the person that you are and the strengths that shine out of your life!

Stephen Potts said...

I love the relational skills that you have! I think it is really powerful that you have Input together with Woo because it means that you are just a great people person that includes the new friends you are making. I'd love to find someone on campus that doesn't know who you are. I obviously could see the positivity right away when we met at the tables by cougar walk, "Aly Larson? From facebook?". Communication is another one I obviously see, I remember when we were sharing our summer events and you told a great story about having the best time with your friends. You have a powerful way with storytelling that will go well with the group of people that you win over in life. It's definitely God's blessing that we are in the same Alpha group and we are growing together. God bless!

Anonymous said...

Aly~
So far i have to agree with the includer, you have included me very well in our lil alpha group! :) I always see you smiling, so i know that positivity fits you. Woo probably should be higher on your list of strengths, you definitly are good at meeting new people. I dont really know if you are input, i need to get to know you better before i comment on that one. So i think that communication should be your number one strength, one of the things i absolutly love about you is that you love to talk, and your stories are always amusing! So basically all of your strengths fit you, they just need to be in a different order! :)

Jaclyn said...

I love you girl! this is totally you! all of these qualities especially includer, you always go around making sure that everyone is together and having fun. No wonder you are an ambassador! These strengths by far are your most endearing qualities.

Jamie said...

AL-YAY!!!! Oh my word, all these strengths so describe you. Anyone who has listened or talked to you (probably listened :) can tell you that you so have the strengths of communication and woooo!!! At our first alpha meeting everyone knew that you loved to talk and I love how you aren't embarrassed of yourself in any way. I love that you talk about things that people are normally don't talk about. I love you..and that's that. :)

COLT said...

Aly!!! your strenghts are all incredibly accurate from what I've seen from you this past month. You are so personable and easy to talk to, you treat everyone the same and Ive never seen you be judgemental at all. I was suprised to see Input, probably because its a deeper strenght even you didn't quite know you had. I think as you go through college it will arise to be as apparent as your other strenghts.

Jonathan Garcia said...

i tihnk that out of everyone, ive gotten to know you... not in a personal way put more like in general. I can def see all these strengths in you and i am actually suprised that i can see all these in someones life. and well, your such a girl. :D