Personal Narrative: My Top Five Strengths

According to the Strengths Finder survey results, my top five strengths are responsibility, competition, input, relator, and intellection. Some of these I have already utilized, and others require more development to determine how they can be more effectively applied in my everyday life. Responsibility was the first strength listed in my survey results. If I commit to doing something, I make every effort to not disappoint anyone who is counting on me. I am often assigned additional duties or projects at work, because management knows that I will get them accomplished. People who have responsibility as a strength are known to be dependable and can be trusted to deliver on their promises (Clifton, Anderson, & Schreiner, 2006).

Secondly, competition

After reading the description of this strength, it made a lot more sense. As a relator, I have a preference toward nurturing already developed friendships rather than starting a friendship with someone new (Clifton, Anderson, & Schreiner, 2006). Though I have many acquaintances, I do not consider a lot of people to be friends. Because of life and work experiences, I tend to be highly selective in deciding whom will I allow to know me on a more personal level (Clifton, Anderson, & Schreiner, 2006). Letting someone to get close to me is not very common. Though I am generally perceived as outgoing and friendly, I often keep people at arm’s length and do not allow them to know anything more than superficial information about my life.

Lastly, I possess the strength of intellection. Simply defined, this means that I am a thinker (Clifton, Anderson, & Schreiner, 2006). True to individuals who have this strength, I prefer to have time to myself to reflect and contemplate my thoughts each day. I use this planned seclusion from the busy world around me to organize, plan, and solve problems. Each morning before I even arrive at work, my mind has already raced through all of the tasks that I need to start or complete. When I leave work, my mind jumps to the things I need to do when I get