On the drive home Monday, I asked Jrex what he thought my strengths and weaknesses are. (When I told my sister I did this, she thought I was nuts!) But he’s insightful so I was curious what he sees in me.
Strengths
One: “You’re gifted at connecting with people. You’re able to care for and stay connected with people all over the country. I have one or two deep friendships at a time and the number of people you know well awes me. Two: Creativity. You always have projects going on, whether yard projects, sculptures, calligraphy, or something else. Three: Inclusiveness. You are able to make people from all walks of life feel valued and important. You create events and reach out to people around you.”
Weaknesses
One: “Maintenance. You’re great at starting things, but if they become routine, you tune out or get bored. Two: Sometimes it’s hard for you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.”
I totally agree with the weaknesses so that wasn’t hurtful to hear (phew!). As we discussed it further it was interesting to realize that I’m a split difference between my Mother’s incredible thoughtfulness and ability to empathize, and my Father’s oblivious factor. I suspect it relates to the maintenance issue: if someone is in crisis, they’re an interesting project and I invest in understanding them and what they’re going through, but if it’s ordinary life I assume they can fend for themselves and get focused on my own perspective. I’m still happy to listen, but I’m not as empathetic or proactive as I might be for the crisis phase.
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At one point in the drive I asked Jrex what we should talk about. “I don’t know,” he answered, “What do we want to analyze?”
5 comments:
I like how you keep quoting me in your blog. It's usually about 75% true but I guess if I want it to be 100% true I should write my own blog. And then it will only be true for me.
Best friend life-partners are a great place to get personal insight because you know THEY know the true you. And evidently they love you anyway.
I thought you were 75% nuts.
one of j's strengths is saying things clearly and well. he totally pegged you! the interesting question now is: what are you going to do with those insights?
-sheila
Mea culpa, otr sis. If it's still essentially true, but a little more dramatic, I go for drama, usually at family's expense (did you see the thing about my oblivious factor?)
Umm.. I guess that means, to answer Sheila's question, continue on my merry way?
Is that the wrong answer?
There was no wrong answer :) And yours is one of only a couple of options - the other obvious one being to try to change the weaknesses. But no one's perfect, so if you're comfortable with those, then continue on merrily!
-Sheila
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