Clifton Strengths 

Strengths Narrative

Logan Freeman

Professor Rob Gioielli

Honors 1015

22 September 2022

Knowing your own strengths can lead to the improvement of those strengths. If you know what you are good at you can use that knowledge to be even better. This idea adds validity to the important concept of taking a test or survey to identify your individual top strengths. For this course, we used the tool known as the “CliftonStrengths Assessment”, which does not have to do with the neighborhood of Clifton where UC Main Campus is located. Instead, this assessment was developed by educational psychologist Donald Clifton, where it got its name sake. My top five strengths from this strengths-determining survey were Futuristic, Intellection, Input, Learner, and Restorative. For this narrative, I will be discussing the time I’ve used my top three, and frankly most important, strengths. As well as developing a way I can better use these strengths in the future.

To begin, for my third strength, I got Input. This strength is defined as, “people exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a need to collect and archive. They may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships,” (Clifton Strengths). I feel as though I have used this strength before in many different situations. In general, I do see myself as someone who aspires to keep or “accumulate” information. I’ve spent much of my time learning about topics such as technology, astronomy, and nature. Though, there's more to input than learning, you must be able to apply what you learn. I am decent at this concept, although I believe I can improve. Next, for my second strength, I got Intellection. This strength is defined as, “people exceptionally talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions,” (Clifton Strengths). This strength can mean a lot of things, often it is defined as wanting to understand various different topics, but thinking in general is key. In a similar vein to input, I’ve certainly put the time into learning and trying to understand various information and topics. Specifically relating to intellection, I often think in my head a lot more than I speak out loud, for me it’s seemingly always been this way. Finally, for my first top overall strength, I got Futuristic. This strength is defined as, “people exceptionally talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They energize others with their visions of the future,” (Clifton Strengths). The idea of looking to the future and marveling at its possibilities, is absolutely something I am fond of doing. For example, I often end up daydreaming about the development of future technology that could lead to a much better and efficient life. Overall, I believe the top three strengths the Clifton Assessment gave me is accurate to my true strengths. 

With all these strengths in mind, how may I go about applying them better in the future? Well first of all, my top strength of Futuristic will certainly help me brainstorm some ideas. Recently though, I’ve been putting more effort into trying to understand myself and how I work. In this case, understanding my strengths will aid me in this journey. I realized that these three main strengths of mine had a lot in common. It appears that this is the general idea of wishing to learn and then applying the knowledge I gain. Therefore, if I want to reinforce my strengths, I believe I should put more effort into learning to a degree I haven’t already. I must continue to seek topics I find interesting, which I already sought to do in my college journey. Overall, I am satisfied with my top three strengths, and I am looking forward to becoming a more capable person by applying my strengths to a bigger magnitude.