Get To Know Me Like I Did

This has been a great year for me. Both good and bad but thankful for all that has happened. The big thing this year has been self awareness. I wanted to share a couple tools I have used to become more self-aware. I was amazed by how unaware I was as I took these tests. I really thought I new myself better : )

The Myers Briggs Test was the first one I took. I started with a paid version but here is a link for a free one. I have used it for friends and family and even compared my personal results to the one I paid for and it has not failed me yet.

Pay-Myers Briggs
Free-Myers Briggs
My results-Google Doc

Strengths Finder-This one cost me $25. If you buy the book you get a code to take the test online. Here are my top 5 out of 35 strengths.

Below are my top five themes of talent, ranked in the order revealed by my responses to the Clifton StrengthsFinder.

How well do you think these themes describe me?

Input

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

Futuristic

People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

Activator

People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Arranger

People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Ideation

People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

To learn more about the Clifton StrengthsFinder and how you can discover your top five themes, visit http://strengths.gallup.com

And my favorite tool for self-awareness and growth has been the Chazown spiritual gifts test. Here are the results.  

CORE VALUES

• Character
• Efficiency
• Faithfulness
• Family
• Grace
• Growth

2

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

• Administration / Guidance
• Encouragement
• Music
• Teaching
• Wisdom

This assessment was free!

We don't know what we don't know

The other day I had to bring our Buick in for a tune up because it wasn't running so well.  I have learned that I have no skills when it comes to fixing our cars and so when I need work done, I should seek a professional right away! So, I went to see my mechanic named Dustin, who told me, "Joe you're only running on three out of six cylinders".  So I said,  "Wow, that sounds pretty bad, let's go ahead and get 'em running again buddy".  Dustin laughed because he knows me well enough to know that I had no idea what a cylinder was or that I even had six to start with. So he took me into his garage where he had several engines tore down and he showed me exactly what needed to be done. The next day, when I went to pick up our truck, Dustin told me he could only fix two of the three bad cylinders and if I wanted to get the other one fixed, he would need to tear into the engine to see why the remaining one wasn't working like it should. He also informed me that I had probably been running with two bad cylinders for awhile but didn't notice because when two are gone they balance out "the miss",  so you don't feel it and therefore wouldn't know it. But when the third one went out, everything changed.  The situation got me thinking about life. How many areas in life am I running on less than all cylinders?  And what if two of my cylinders are out, but it seems to me like everything is fine?When it really isn't? How do I even know I need to fix anything? I guess there are times when we just don't know something is wrong.  But just like with our truck, I think when we don't know, God protects us until something changes or He puts someone around us to help us identify the problem. Sometimes we just don't know what we don't know and it takes someone else either telling us or simply being an example.

Criticism

I tend to take criticism hard. It is never easy to hear how unhappy you make people but criticism (from the right people) makes me take an honest evaluation of myself and that is never a bad thing. Here are ten things I have been thinking to myself this week after some healthy constructive criticism...

1. You will never make everyone happy so stop thinking    you can. 
2. Get people around you. You get more done that way and its more fun to work with a team.
3. Take the time to know what you should be doing and what you shouldn't 
4. It is better to do less well, then do a lot a little...Finish well
5. Be dripping with grace in every situation and always give people the benefit of the doubt 
6. End TXT messages with a smiley face so people don't read it the wrong way 
7. Some conversions are not for TXT messaging :) 
8. My family (kids and wife) comes before the church :) 
9. God builds the church and still uses me in spite of who I really am 
10. If I am not connected to the vine my spirit withers and my flesh gets out of control. 

Here are a couple quotes I borrowed form Mark Driscoll's Facebook page this week...

 "Don't let the voices of 100's who love you be erased by a singular voice of 1 who hates you today.Do the math.You are loved."

 "If you don't want to be criticized it's simple —don’t say anything, don't do anything, and don't have anything."

 "Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable." (Luke 6:22 MSG)

Leadership

Everyone has a position or a platform of leadership. Maybe your a leader in your home or at work but the truth is you are a leader and have influence somewhere.I have met so many men and women who think that leadership is only for some chosen elite and that they are "not gifted in that area" I have also noticed that the best leaders are the ones who don't think they got what it takes, when really they have the hardest parts figured out already. For some reason leaders have been able to slip through the cracks  because of their skill and the important stuff gets sidelined and even overlooked. For instance as a musician/worship leader I would get asked to do a lot based on my skill as a guitar player and singer rather than the things that really mattered like compassion and character. There came a time in my life when I had to simply stop honing my skills and relearn having compassion for people and living with character. Walking down this road I have discovered there are two different kinds of leaders, dictators and servants. Lets get over ourselves and start washing some feet.