I’ve learned a lot about myself this week. Actually, I think that “confirmed previous assumptions about myself” is a little more accurate.

My classes this week focused on preparing us to work in groups and to recognize what we bring to the table in our groups. This also means that we learned how other people can maximize their roles as we work through projects.

To further know how I can contribute, I took the Clifton Strengths Assessment. (I just took the basic one that gives you your top 5 strengths). After I took it, I recognized how those strengths have become more prevalent in my life, especially recently with EFY. My top five are:

1. Relator
2. Developer
3. Connectedness
4. Individualization
5. Arranger

Interestingly, numbers 1-4 are focused on one on one interaction and helping others and number 5 connects to me through how I like to learn and work, in structured but flexible environments. In my class, we discussed how each person will have different strengths and different ways that they connect to their strengths in contrast with another person. So, someone could have the same strengths as me but they would still be slightly different. As individuals, we all bring something unique to the table.

In other news, this week I received my new running shoes! (It’s been quite a while since I have had a decent pair of running shoes so this is a big deal and these ones should help my feet to stabilize on my longer runs!) If you read my blog about this time last year, I started to train for a marathon that I wanted to run this last spring. Unfortunately, I had to postpone my training for medical reasons. But I’m back! So, I went on a couple of runs last week and look forward to more fun runs (and hikes until it gets too cold in the canyon) this fall! Along those lines, if any Provo people want to go for an easy run (or hike), let me know. 

In a nutshell, that was this week! Thanks for reading, love you guys!

-Mitch