My Strengths

So I slaved through that crazy, long test and finally figured out my strengths. I was actually pretty surprised to see that they match my idea of myself pretty well and described my characteristics in ways I've never heard or thought of before. Here they are:

Belief
Adaptability
Command
Competition
Individualization

Belief was the first one that caught my eye, ironically being the first one on the list as well. This is a huge aspect of my life because my belief system is what guides my actions and decisions on a day to day basis. One quote that I thought was most accurate of me from the strengths quest website was "[beliefs] provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities."

Adaptability was a part of me I really considered a strength. However, after reading about it, it did make sense. An example in my life of adaptability was during my senior year. Up until my Senior year I was positive I wanted to go to a UC, such as UCLA. But, when my senior year came around and it was time to college hunt I was open to whatever college stood out to me, wherever I felt called to go, and for me that was APU.

Command is another strength I was amused to see on my results. I think it is all to true being that is basically being confrontational, but in a positive aspect. If someone does something I disagree with and tries to justify it I will be the first to let them know how I feel. I rarely feel afraid of confrontation, even when I should be. Such as with adults or people positions of authority. One quote from the description that I love was "you know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution". I hate it when people tip-toe around how they really feel about certain subjects just so the group doesn't have to feel uncomfortable.

Competition "is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people's performance." This is a dead-on description of me. I don't like to admit it a lot of the time but it is true. This is just one sentence, but the whole description given on strengths quest is exactly true as well. There is competition rooted in almost everything I do.

Individualization is one of the cooler strengths I think I have. I can usually tell most about a person's character after a few minutes a talking or getting to know them. Also, I can almost always tell how someone will react to certain things in life, such as jokes, controversial issues, etc.

Bellow is the strengthsquest description of each of my strengths, which you can read if you really feel the need. Enjoy

Belief
If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics-both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. "I know where you stand," they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

Adaptability
You live in the moment. You don't see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn't mean that you don't have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don't resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.

Command
Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed, you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life's unpleasantness, you feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to you. You have presence. You have Command.

Competition
Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people's performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how worthy your intentions, if you reached your goal but did not outperform your peers, the achievement feels hollow. Like all competitors, you need other people. You need to compare. If you can compare, you can compete, and if you can compete, you can win. And when you win, there is no feeling quite like it. You like measurement because it facilitates comparisons. You like other competitors because they invigorate you. You like contests because they must produce a winner. You particularly like contests where you know you have the inside track to be the winner. Although you are gracious to your fellow competitors and even stoic in defeat, you don't compete for the fun of competing. You compete to win. Over time you will come to avoid contests where winning seems unlikely.

Individualization
Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or "types" because you don't want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person's style, each person's motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person's life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person's need to be shown and another's desire to "figure it out as I go." Because you are such a keen observer of other people's strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team "structure" or "process," you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

Who Am I?

The question to answer is who am I? It's such a simple question that has the ability to bring up the most deep and revealing answers. However, I wont start my first blog with those answers. Instead I'll start with the basics, which seems appropriate. My name is Colton Anthony Simmons and I was born July 12, 1989 in Santa Clara, California near the bay area. I have both a mother and a father as well as an older brother. I have been a Christian for most of my life but only in the most recent years of my life have I learned what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. So, in order for you to really get to know me and "who I am" you have to understand my hobbies as well as interests.
I try to fit as much fun into everyday of my life as I can and the way I do that is mostly by going place or playing outside. I love to play almost every sport, but only watch a few. Currently tennis is the only sport I play competitively for Azusa. I'm fairly small at only 5' 7", 135 pounds, so most sports were realistically not possible for me such as football and basketball, two of my favorites. But I'm still fairly athletic and can do pretty much any physical activity I put my mind to. Other than sports, I spend a lot of my free time playing bass, as well as guitar. I've really gotten into music the last few years and Have found that it is a great escape from whatever crazy stuff is going on around me. The only habit/interest I have that could be considered a little strange or unusual is my love of playing with fire. But don't worry APU, there isn't any in my dorm! Not that I don't wish there was.
Moving on to the more important stuff, I think that a huge part of who we are is what we believe. As I said before, I am of the Evangelical Christian faith, so I believe the Jesus Christ was the son of God, our savior, and died on the cross to save us from sin. I also believe that the bible is the history of God's people and his word written through man. I am very much an inexperienced Christian in the grand scheme of things and still have a lot to learn about my faith as well as my religion. However, I stand very firm on the things I do believe to be true and the values I hold. My goal in life is always to live the life I say I do. This has been a constant struggle throughout the younger years of my life, and believe me I screwed up a lot. I do not believe that makes me a hypocrite or any other Christians who have crossed the lines they so firmly draw in their life now. In actuality I think that having failed before and seen what the other side of life without God is like makes me an even better and more effective Christian now. I wouldn't wish what I've had to go through on anyone but I'm glad I did because I am proud of the person I have become.
So who am I exactly? I think the only important thing that a person can ever be in life is a firm believer in Christ and what he did for all of us. Someone who acts on their beliefs instead of just arguing with those who disagree with them, someone who doesn't live in the image of society but the image of God, and finally someone who is a Christian even when its not convenient or when no one is looking. That's the someone I want to be and currently am trying to be.