Over a course of five days, I am sharing each of my five strengths as indicated through the StrengthsFinder indicator. Of the 34 themes, these are my “top five”. Hopefully this will give insight into who I am, how I am wired, and why I lead and blog the way I do. I am simply sharing the feedback results the indicator gave to me after I took the assessment, , but after that paragraph I will share some additional thoughts on the negative aspect of this strength.
Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. 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. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.
The negative of this strength is that I never really take a break. On my day off I have to achieve something. When I am in the shower I have to use it as thought time. (Some of my best thoughts are produced here by the way.) I can be hard to satisfy, always wanting more from myself and others around me, which I realize makes me hard to live and work with at times.
I’ve enjoyed each day that i’ve been subscribed to your posts… it’s only been a few weeks, but so many things are thought-provoking and inspirational.
here, the Achiever description is the first time that i’ve seen a clear, well thought description of exactly how i feel… what drives me. I’ve identified with many archetypes in novels and stories that display this quality… one of my favorites was when in the last(and pretty bad) matrix film, Neo reveals that he can’t be beaten because he chooses not to… that when he’s given two options, one of quit and one of start again, that he chooses “start again” every time. I tried to explain that essence to my wife, in an excited manner, and i feel that your fantastic description is not only more thorough, but worlds more understandable : )
OH, and also, some of the best brainstorms are from the shower! I think that if revealed, much of the world’s great though comes from the bathroom… something about the combination of relaxation, random thought and repetitive task I think.
The shower is a great place to speak with God. You’re being refreshed and re-energized by washing, as well as the shower raining down on you.
Somehow, we have to figure out how to rest, without feeling we didn’t accomplish something. Even though I don’t feel burnout, it does catch up with you.