We Truly are Opposites

I am now married to a 30 year old! We celebrated Ryan's 30th birthday last night, just the two of us, by going out to a steakhouse restaurant -- it is kind of a tradition for him to enjoy a steak on his birthday. The food was very good, but we both ate too much and were feeling quite stuffed by the end of the meal...particularly since I told our server that it was Ryan's birthday and she brought out a big piece of an oreo cake for him. But with a little help from me, he managed to consume most of it, though must say any "gaps" were definitely filled at that point.

It has been kind of a busy week for us. On Wednesday night, we also met Ryan's boss Connie for dinner and a bit of coaching on our strengths. There is a book called "Living Your Strengths" which we are reading through and using an on-line test developed by Gallup, it identifies your key 5 strengths and in the order of relation to you (strongest first). It has been quite amazing to see how this one test can be so accurate at basically identifying who you are and what makes you tick, as some might say. Not surprising to either me or Ryan, none of our 5 strengths were the same (sometimes people might share one or more of the same strengths but in different order...it is very unusual to meet someone with exactly the same strengths and in the same order as you -- that is how unique each of us are made to be!). We are definitely opposites, but complementing opposites which can work very well together (if you recognize and appreciate the differences). Let me share our strengths and just some of the characteristics behind each and see what you think -- does it match us?

I will do mine first:

1. Achiever: *You work very hard to complete each task on your "to do" list, and you always have a very long list of things to do. *You have a great deal of stamina and determination to achieve your goals.

2. Responsibility: *You are dependable, and people know they can count on you. *You don't want to let peole down, and you will work very hard to fulfill all your responsibilities and keep your word.

3. Harmony: *You want peace, and you try to bring people together. *You seek to help individuals, families, and organizations work together.

4. Developer: *When you are a part of someone's development, it is the best experience in the world for you. *You love to see others make progress, and you will notice even the slightest progress.

5. Arranger: *You can get a lot done, even though you usually have many projects going on at the same time. *You enjoy coordinating all of the complex factors that go into making a project successful.

And now Ryan's...

1. Significance: *You want to have an impact on other people, groups, and society as a whole. *You want the contributions you make to be viewed as substantial, powerful, and significant.

2. Futuristic: *You are fascinated by the future, and you usually see the future positively. *You can energize yourself and others by your vision of what could be. You can clearly see possibilities.

3. Belief: *You have core values that are unchanging. You may conflict with people who oppose or don't value your beliefs. *You have deeply held ideas about what is, what should be, and the purpose of your life.

4. Context: *You see patterns that emerge from studying what happened before. *You learn best when you place what is to be learned into the context of other important dynamics and the history of what you are learning.

5. Restorative: *You readily take on projects that others believe "can't be saved." *You can analyze a situation and identify potential shortcomings and what needs to be fixed.

So what do you think -- Do these 5 fit each of us pretty closely? Whew, this is turning into quite possibly my longest blog yet, so I will have mercy and wrap up for now.