Wednesday, March 3, 2010

March Already ?!?!?

Woosa!! I can’t believe it’s March already. This year is going by so fast. I’m loving it though, here are a few high points:

January 2010: Actually the transition started in December, but January 2010 began with me in a new position at my place of employment. I.Love.It!! I still have the same boss and she is FANTASTIC. I love working for her. I have learned so much from her. She’s not only a great boss but a great mentor as well. She has really caused me to reevaluate some of my professional goals and to be objective about which areas need improvement. One of the most helpful tools in finding out which areas you are strong in is Tom Rath’s Strengths Finders 2.0. All employees here have to take the online course.

Below are my top 5 strengths and they TOTALLY fit who I am as a person. I was stunned by the accuracy of the assessment. The assessment is much much more in depth but here is a basic thumbnail sketch:

• Input: People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more (maybe this is why some people tend to think I’m nosy). Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

• Context: People who are especially talented in the Context them enjoy thinking about the past (anyone who knows me, knows I’m a HUGE history buff; I’m the dork who took ALL of the history classes offered in college just because I wanted to). They understand the present by researching its history.

• Intellection: People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

• Futuristic: People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. (I think this explains my strong beliefs in all of the Universal Laws, mainly the Law of Attraction as well as Quantum Physics and the power of the human mind). They inspire people with their visions of the future. (Inspire maybe, but I know I annoy a few people LOL)

• Learner: People who are especially talented in the Learner them have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. The underlined portion says a lot about my non-competitive nature. I truly enjoy learning a process vs. the actual outcome which may explain why I 9/10 know tons about a subject but often struggle with applying the knowledge. Unfortunately, this is often characterized as being lazy or “ just not wanting something bad enough”.

February 2010: After 8 years of not having a car payment I threw in the towel and bought a new car. My 1993 Pontiac Bonneville is happily retired and is looking forward to becoming a donor to other less fortunate Pontiacs who might be in need of parts assistance. I bought a 2008 Hyundai Sonata which is very similar to probably a Toyota Camry in size and body style. Our new relationship kinda got off to a rocky start though. A bad body sensor was draining the battery and eventually fried my radio. I went through 3 batteries the first week I had the car (my radio is still on backorder. Grrr!!!) Luckily diagnostics and a 10 yr/100,000 mile warranty brought us back together and now we are happier than ever. :grin:

The first 3 days of March have been pretty uneventful, just work , work and more work but I’m not complaining. It’s challenging leaving a job that you knew everything about and moving into a new one in which you know NOTHING. I’m making it work though and am very excited about everything that is to come this year.