life ness.

I've been having one of my annual what-do-I-do-with-my-life struggles. I am even reading the book 'What Color is My Parachute?' Yes, it's that severe. :-P Ha, actually it's a very good book. It has a lot of great advice on interviews, salary negotiation, and evaluating your talents/interests, etc.

It kind of goes along with a book I'm reading for class called 'Strengths Based Leadership.' It's also a very interesting book - it's a nice way of spending a lot of time thinking about myself, as if I don't do enough of that already. ;-)
The Strengths book actually offers some pretty good advice: it basically says we should all spend more time developing our strengths than trying to focus on or improve our weaknesses. It hit home for me, because I do spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm not good at (public speaking, being assertive, pretending to have a sliver of self-confidence, getting ready in the morning, being prepared, staying focused), rather than saying "hey, I'm pretty good at this. I should do more of it." (ummm right now the only thing I can think of that I'm good at is standardized tests - those might help for short-term goals, but other than that it's pretty useless!!).

My top strengths according to the 'Strengths Finder':

- Individualization 
You are impatient with generalizations or "types" because you don't want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person's style, each person's motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person's life.
I find this to be totally true. I enjoy working with different types of people, and I HATE generalizations or stereotypes. I love learning about different cultures & working with people differently depending on how I know they like to work. My friend at work who originates from Argentina tells me I should work for the state department. I would love that! Small problem: I have no qualifications for that kind of position... at all.

- Futuristic
You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions. When the present proves too frustrating and the people around you too pragmatic, you conjure up your visions of the future and they energize you.

This definitely goes with my constant planning and spreadsheet-making. I am always coming up with and revising my future plans. And re-revising. And revising again.... 

- Input

You are inquisitive. You might collect information because it interests you. You probably read a lot to add to your archive of information. 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.

I certainly do like to read. I just bought several books at the library, which I know I will not have time to read with all my work and school reading. I bought an amazing book by Richard Dawkins which shows the proof for evolution, and the Parachute book, and a book called "This I Believe" which comes from a show on NPR. Also "The Elegant Universe" which is about string theory and physics. Seriously - I won't  actually be reading a couple of those for a long time. But I am reading the evolution one because it's sooo good and very interesting. I can't put it down.

Also: I don't throw stuff away and it's a problem. I think I inherited this from my father.

- Strategic

This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, "What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?" This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles.

- Achiever

No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you.

Well, that's reassuring. I have an illogical need to get unnecessary things done, and it's probably never going to go away. I think I'm being a little cynical about this, but it's late. :)

I think that's enough talk about myself... I'll move on to other things.

Things that made me happy this week:

1. New Radiohead album. Not nearly what In Rainbows was, but still something I've been listening to over and over. I love the track 'Codex'. It's soooo gooood. God. I would love to see Radiohead LIVE.

2. Planning a trip to Chicago with my sisters. We want to see a Second City show, stay downtown and go to the art museum and aquarium. I think we're going for spring break which is less than a month away! I need to get planning and find a hotel to stay in.

3. Next week I have my interview. I'll be in Iowa City visiting campus and seeing what the full-time program is all about. We shall see... more on this later.

4. Update on healthiness and losing weight: I am exercising Fridays during my lunch hour with a "step fitness" class (which KILLED my legs by the way) as well as going to the Y for swimming and treadmill. Also, Cody and I are taking long walks over the bridge to Rock Island - there is a very nice bike path that follows the river. Hopefully the weather will get nicer again and I can ride my bike soon. Once the ice melts.

That's all for now. I'm going to pass out learning how we came from gorillas. 

:-P

<3 

me