Values and Other Homework Assignments

I'm still in Nashville, Music City, staying in a fancy hotel and spending my company's money. But I'm learning lots and lots about customer service. And also about networking. Two of my favorite things!

Tomorrow I have another session with my Life/Career Coach, Barbara, and I had quite a few homework assignments to complete before our meeting. One of them was to go through a list of values she provided me and, in a sort of complex process that involved a grid and a protractor and a pair of alligator boots, determine what my top ten values are. I had to break the rules and wear snake skin boots and picked 12 values, but that's me, always breaking the rules.

It blows my mind that someone could actually come up with these top ten values, based on the list she provided:

1. America
2. Credit
3. Dominance
4. Flamboyance
5. Influence Over Others
6. Life Insurance
7. Materialism
8. Metaphysics
9. National Security
10. Obedience

Those do not represent me at all and I am not kidding that those were on the list. Luckily, there were plenty of things on the list that felt right to me, these are my top 12, some tied based on my protractor-calculations:

1. Healing & Life
2. Joy & Clarity
3. Love & Energy
4. Spirituality
5. Authenticity & Satisfaction
6. Family
7. Health

I also had to take two tests online, one was the Keirsey Tempermant Sorter II test, I've taken something like this before when I was a kid (my mother and I didn't shop together, we did psychological tests together) and my results were similar to what I've had in the past. I am an ENFP, which means Expressive (I've also heard Extrovert), Introspective (Intuitive), Friendly (Feeling), Prober. That's me, I certainly like to Probe. Supposedly someone with this profile likes to bring harmony to groups, which is true for me. The other test was the Self Directed Search test, and it turns out I like things having to do with Socialization, Artistic Expression and supposedly Convential occupations, and I don't think that part is true. I can use a computer, yes, and file things, yes, but I don't want that to be my whole work life. I thought it was quite funny that the test told me some combinations of characteristics have less job options than others; mine is one of those combinations. Why can't I just want to fix cars or something?

I'm confident I'll find my way and that when I find it I won't be going to conferences feeling obligated to pass out my business card and make small talk with people who are wearing too much cologne.

Ta Ta for now, I have to go work on my line dancing....