I recently took a short quiz (don’t we love those) in the November 2009 edition of O Magazine--part of the fun of summer break is catching up on my old stack of magazines--this quiz asks the never-ending wannabe question “Who am I mean to be?”
Psychotherapist Anne Dranitsans, PhD crafted the test listing seven ‘striving styles’ which are modes of thought/behavior which help us find satisfaction. The seven styles are:
- Striving to help
- Striving to be recognized
- Striving to be creative
- Striving to be spontaneous
- Striving to be knowledgeable
- Striving to be secure
- Striving to be in control
Normally when I take online or magazine quizzes I have multiple top choices. In this instance all of my answers were within 2-3 points of each other. Thankfully, Dranitsans mentioned that it is common to have a few “highest” scores and that each can help you determine who you’re meant to be.
My strongest two categories were striving to be recognized and striving to be knowledgeable.
In striving to be recognized Dranitsans says “you are prone to becoming a workaholic, slaving away towards success while neglecting your personal life.”
And for the second category striving to be knowledgeable the results say “you are an intellectual—as a leader, you’re often a head of your time. As an employee you surpass the competence level of peers even managers and you’re driven to deeply understand how things work.”
I would say that these are fairly accurate descriptions of myself and now I need to find someway to use this information and leverage it for maximum results.
If you are interested in seeing which style you are you can visit the Striving Styles website here.