Oprah Tells Me Who I Am Meant To Be

I took a quiz on Oprah.com that claimed it could help me figure out “Who am I meant to be?” According to the article, the quiz is based on personality science that has identified seven “striving styles” or modes of thought and behavior that direct us to seek satisfaction in different ways. Everyone has elements of each of the seven styles, but most people have one that dominates. Sounded like just what I was looking for in my quest to define my role in my retirement. I’ll include a link at the end of this post.

So, I took the quiz and I tried to be truthful…there’s always a part of me that wonders if I’m really able to see myself as I really am. When I read the results, they rang true. According to the quiz my three highest styles are:
Striving to be in control
Striving to be knowledgeable
Striving o be secure

Here's what they had to say, “You are a leader…and approach everything as though you were born to be in charge. Confident, assertive, and decisive, you know what you want and you go after it.” Yep, that sounds like me…when I know what I want I usually can figure out how to get it. But of course, the article also describes the downside to this style as, “you can become confrontational and domineering, sometimes to the point of being dictatorial. Practice letting someone else take charge on occasion.” Yes, definitely describes me.

The quiz results go on to suggest that I can discover my purpose when I take control of my environment. Finding a decision-making role is key. According to the article, I can find satisfaction when I am given the autonomy to do things my own way. Hummm, guess it is all about me!

Okay, food for thought. The quiz reinforces what I know about myself. So whatever I figure out to do in retirement I need to have autonomy. But perhaps as a first step in changing my life in retirement I’ll start practicing letting others take the lead.

Try the quiz yourself at:

http://www.oprah.com/survey/health/wellnessandprevention/pkgnewyear/20091001-omag-meant-to-be-quiz

Todays learning goal is to figure out how to post links in this blog...I can't seem to get the code right.