There is something beautiful and frightening about being a 30-something. To be completely free of one’s 20s and at the same time so far into the development of some sort of career you just hope and pray that you’ve made the right choices up to that point.

How many of us ask ourselves on a regular basis whether we are doing the things that we should do with our careers as we stare 40 in the face?

Does anyone feel like there is something else amazing sitting just beyond the horizon and just beyond your reach?

 From now until Christmas, several of us are going to play with the idea of affirmations and how we use them in our lives.  

Today, I am encouraging myself as I wrestle with all kinds of questions about the present and what’s coming just beyond my next horizon and I thought I’d start with sharing a Strengths Test I took recently.

Your Top 5 Strengths Are:
Innovation (94%):

* Actively seek out positions where your ideas will be valued and encouraged.

* Be a designer, sales strategies, marketing guru, or customer service rep for new products and ideas.

* Search out and request ideas from others to stimulate your thinking.

* Constantly think of ideas that can improve businesses and the lives of others.

* You enjoy the power of words; punchy ideas stimulate your thinking – focus and play with this fact.

* For decisions, you need to know that everything fits together. Be aware and plan for decisions.

* If a decision seems to stand out as particularly bothersome, then check if it is an exception before worrying about it.
Problem Solving (94%):

* Know as much as possible about decision making strategies – get a book or two.

* High levels of detail are need for you to commit to decisions – don’t go overboard.

* Let others know you appreciate when they legitimately recognize and praise your reasoning ability.

* You give more credibility to numbers and clear logic – ignore fluff and focus on the data.

* Don’t let others use bad data as credible evidence – keep them on point.

* Take every opportunity to explain patterns/info in detail to others – when they want it.

* Watch out for deadlines – doing it right may be more important to you.
Visionary (94%):

* Seek to share your visions of the future with others and hear others’ ideas, too.

* Seek to share your perspectives on company news, meetings, and projects.

* Look for (and digest!) news and articles that cover the future plans of things.

* Work with or on a planning committee and keep up or review its progress.

* Look for roles where you will be pushed to see the future as vividly as possible.

* Actively help others to rise above the present and be excited about the future.
Faith (94%):

* Make efforts to discover your true passion and tie it to your work, no matter what you do.

* Align, but don’t compromise, your values to that of your organization.

* You respect others for learning about your family and community – give them the opportunity.

* You give more value to greater levels of service than more money – let others know this.

* People may not share your beliefs, but you feel they need to understand & respect – let them.
Leadership (94%):

* You are good at getting projects moving again or persuading people to get stuff going – do it!

* Take opportunities to give evaluations of what is happening in company – your straight answers can help.

* You do not like to be supervised closely – make sure others are aware of this.

* You might empire-build, upset colleagues, get off-focus, ignore commitments – be aware and try to avoid.

* You may tend to intimidate others with up-front, aggressive style – let them know it is not personal.

* Your time may be better spent helping others understand you than trying to change you.

Your Remaining Results Are:

Strategic Thinking (88%):

Integrity (88%):

Balance (88%):

Communication (81%):

Risk Taking (81%):

Self Motivation (81%):

Teamwork (81%):

Purpose (81%):

Resourcefulness (81%):

Optimism (75%):

Curiosity (69%):

Determination (69%):

Salesmanship (69%):

Focus (63%):

Ambition (63%):

Your Bottom 1 Weakness Is:
Adaptability (50%):

* Your success depends on ability to accommodate the unforeseen.

* You find planning work very boring – find ways to minimize this chore while still achieving.

* Get on teams that need to make progress – you won’t sit around and sulk.

* Focus on many quick jobs/tasks rather than long, drawn-out assignments.

* Foster others’ desire to learn and experiment by giving them room and tools.

* Goal-setting meetings and career-counseling are boring to you – minimize it.

I was surprised by some of these findings and I’m going to enjoy exploring what they might mean for how I go about living my life.

If you’d like to take the test for yourself, here is the link: 

http://richardstep.com/rswatest/strengthstest_results.php

~ Marta C. Youngblood