According to Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath my top five strengths are: Competition, Analytical, Activator, Intellection, and Adaptability. These are traits that I have seen play important roles in my life both academically and personally.
My top strength is Competition and this is definitely something I have seen motivate me academically. I love comparing my grades to the class average of the class distributions because it puts a numeric value on how well I’m doing compared to everyone else. His is not to say that I don’t appreciate the effort I put into my work, rather I just like being able to numerically organize my output in relation to others. This strength relates slightly to my Analytical strength, where I tend to search for ways to numerically explain trends. Both of these strengths fit very well with my current academic plan of earning a Bachelor’s of Science in mathematics. Discovering these strengths only further clarified what I already knew; I enjoy numbers and love using them to explain phenomena. I have always been driven to figure out how things work mathematically, something that has been integral to my academic career thus far.
My strengths of Intellection and Adaptability have been very import in my life as well. I have always been interested in fields other than then mathematics and this is where my strength of Intellection comes to play. Through Intellection I am always thinking of why things are the way they are and always seeking out information be it through news or books. I particularly see the strength in myself when I participated in organizations such as Model UN and Model Congress in high school. Additionally, through my strength of Adaptability I am always willing to try a new way at look at or explaining things. I believe that both of these strengths will be helpful as I continue my studies of mathematics, especially as I move to higher level analysis courses where one must write proofs. This requires critical thinking and looking at things from different perspectives, something my strengths will help me do.
My final strength is Activator, meaning I am good at starting the process of a project or providing the spark to get things going. I have seen this trait in my past when I have had to participate in group projects. I’ve always been the person to get things moving once we have a plan and am often impatient to get the project done. I think being aware of this strength will help me in the future whenever I have to work with a group of people, which I’m sure will be often, in that it shows me which part of the project I will be the most effective working on. Additionally, it will allow me insight as to how to balance work with a group of people so that everyone can do the portion of the project that they are the best at, thus maximizing output.
Overall, by discovering my strengths I will able to maximize my output when participating in projects. Additionally, it makes me more aware of what fields I can naturally succeed at and what fields I will have have a much harder time excelling in. this will be helpful as I continue my academic career and move onto my professional career so that I can tailor my courses and jobs to maximize my involvements in areas related to my strengths. I believe that by continuing my studies in math I am utilizing my strengths and hope to one day translate this in the professional sector.