My top five strengths in order are Learner, Restorative, Developer, Futuristic, and Relator. When I first took the evaluation and received my list, I didn’t think the strengths on my list were representative of who I am. The more I read through the descriptions, however, the more I saw how they describe me. There are some that I would not have necessarily picked for my top five, but I think the ones I have describe a large part of my strengths.
My top strength was Learner. I actually see this strength a lot in my life. In general, I like to know how things work or why they happen. Growing up my dad constantly told me stories of different events in history or just new things he learned about, so I think a lot of this strength comes from that. I like knowing random facts and information along with learning things that have to do with school and my career path. This strength is important in the way I learn in school. I like to understand the concept of a topic or process, rather than memorize information just to be regurgitated. If I don’t understand why I am doing a specific process in calculus, for example, it is hard for me to be able to apply it to different situations. I also believe that learning how a process works will help me to be better at whatever I am doing. This strength definitely fits with my future career plans. Medicine is constantly changing and breakthroughs occur every day, so as a doctor I will have to constantly learn in order to keep up with the medical community. Having Learner as one of my top strengths also helps me in preparation for my future career plans. In order to do well on the MCAT and to know what I need to for medical school, I will need to be able to learn and retain a lot of information. This strength will definitely help me to do that.
The second strength in my top five was Restorative. This is another one I can definitely see as part of my life. One of the phrases used to describe someone who has the Restorative strength was that he or she is “adept at dealing with problems.” I think this describes me. The report also says that I attempt to overcome my shortcomings. This also describes me well. I often focus on things that I am not doing well, and I divert energy towards improving those things. This can be good in academics because I am able to identify what I need to work on in my classes, and I can spend more time on studying that specific thing rather than something I have already mastered. The fact that I am good at solving problems fits well with my plans to be a doctor. Being able to solve problems would help with diagnosing patients and finding a way to treat them. The fact that I am willing to work hard to perfect my skills also works well because it is important to strive toward perfection as a doctor. This strength can help me to achieve my goals because I am able to use my strengths to work on my shortcomings and make myself better.
My third strength is Developer. This fits me because I like to help people and make them feel better about themselves. With most people, I am able to spot their good qualities, and I like to focus on this part of them. When people come to me with problems, I help to solve them in the best way I can, which relates to my Restorative strength. I also try to help people be happier if possible. If someone is feeling bad about themselves, I do whatever I can to make them feel better. I like to genuinely compliment people on aspects of their lives that will make them feel good. The report says that these qualities inspire people to develop the talents, knowledge, etc. that I compliment them on so that they can become better people. I dislike when other people feel left out or underappreciated so I do my best to help the people around me to avoid this. This can help me as a doctor because I can use this to help patients focus on good qualities and to develop these qualities if need be.
My fourth strength is Futuristic. This is one of the strengths I immediately agreed with the first time I saw my report. I am inspired by the future and what could be/what I could become. I focus a lot on what I want to do in the future and what it is going to take to get there. This is good because it shows ambition and also the ability to plan. This is useful in academics because I am able to plan what I need to accomplish in order to finish all of my work and obtain the grades I want. When I set goals for myself both in the near and distant future, I am able to accomplish more because I can visualize what I am working towards. This is also useful in the medical field because I am able to visualize what I want in the future and I can use my Learner and Restorative strengths to develop skills and knowledge I need to accomplish these goals. Being futuristic can help me to become a doctor because it is difficult to be accepted into medical school, so I am able to visualize what I need to do throughout my undergraduate career in order to be accepted into the medical schools I want. I can also see how this strength relates to me because I often need time to myself alone with my thoughts just to organize what is going on in my life and what my plans are, which was described in my report.
My fifth strength is Relator. This fits me because I like to work hard to achieve my goals. I also use logic and reasoning to solve problems and make decisions, which is also described in the report. I can take a complicated situation or process and simplify it so that it can be explained to someone else. This is useful in academics because a good way to study something is to teach it to someone else. This also helps the people around me if I understand something better in a class than they do. This is also interesting because I have always said that if for some reason I decide not to become a doctor, the only other thing I can see myself doing is teaching. This strength would definitely help with this if I chose to make it my career. It can also help with my plans to become a doctor if I decided to work in a teaching hospital once I had the opportunity to. This can also help me to simplify processes in everyday life or if my schedule gets busy, I am able to sit down and organize it so that it makes more sense to me.