My Middle Ground...

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog.  Work has been hard, but that isn’t what I want to focus on.  This week more than any other I’ve been thinking about what I need to do to shift my focus from temporary happiness to everlasting. 

I was talking with a friend yesterday about something said at church and how it made me feel like I was less of a person.  You know what he said - why do you care!?  Not going to lie, his frankness is sometimes just as frustrating to me as the initial problem I was "presenting" for discussion.  So, I asked myself that after dropping him off, why did I care?  Turns out the answer was a simple one, I don't want to look like I am a mean person.  Might sound silly to some, but it is a genuine fear of mine.  I don't ever want to give someone the impression that what they think or feel does not matter in the grand scheme of things because everyone matters.  I know how that feels, I know how it is when you are screaming your head off and no one really cares.  I don't want to think of others feeling that way because of me or my actions. 

I’ve been there, that moment when you feel like everything is going your way – you can’t believe you could be that happy!  I’ve also been there when it comes crashing down around you and you want to sleep away the hurt, anger and frustration.  Between those two phases is the middle ground – I like to think of it as the “I’m okay” ground.  This between phases is what I am trying to find right now, a place where I am content even though things aren’t perfect, a place where I’m okay.  For a long time I thought that the being okay meant that I was giving up on things ever getting better.  I realize now that it was the time in my life where I learned about hope and about becoming more humble.  I hoped for things to get better and they usually would, but it wasn’t in the timeline I outlined for myself.  No one likes to learn humility the hard way - except me.  Apparently, I'm going for the gold medal! 

 

As many of us see throughout life, lessons learned often need to be relearned…  That is where I see myself now, in the relearning my middle ground and that’s okay by me because that means that things will get better.

Personality Test - Myers Briggs

I went to my first book club meeting last night and had a blast. I, of course, kept saying the dumb comments and just needed to shut it sometimes. Ha!

One of the girls made the funniest comment as we were talking about personalities - about being smarter than another person. I loved it! Then thought about all the dumb comments I was making and decided to try and shut my mouth for the rest of the evening... It didn't work, but I tried. ANYWAY - in the beginning they were discussing personality test that I had heard about but never taken.

So, when I got home last night I took the test and these are the results... Agree or Disagree??

E - S - F - J



YOUR TYPE
E S F J

Based on my personality type, these are the best career choices I should look into:

Career Educational Institutions
Management
Public Administration
Hotel & Restaurant Management
Sales/Marketing Specialist
Fashion Merchandising
Health Care (Does working in a CCRC count?)
Nursing (Uh, thanks but NO thanks!)
Social Service
Education
Social Work

Famous people of your particular type
Martin Luther King
Eleanor Roosevelt (Married to the President of the U.S., and an amazing women - I wouldn't mind following in her footsteps!)
Elvis Stojko (figure skater Olympic champion)

Guardian category: Provider

"Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.

Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone's been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.

Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what's been going on in the local community, school, or church, they're happy to fill us in on all the details.

Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others."