This week's

Questions for Reflection

A Small-Group

 Strengths-Articulation Experience

 Gather with others in a small group of two to four.  Four is the optimum size.  Each of you will need several blank sheets of paper and a pen or pencil.  Keep in mind the Dependable Strengths^® definition of a Good Experience: something you did & you believe you did well & you are proud of.

1.       (5-10 minutes.)  Think back to your earliest Good Experience.  See if you can remember something from when you were four or five.  Draw a picture that represents your earliest Good Experience.  Show your picture to your group, and tell about it.

2.       (20-30 minutes.)  Think about your recent Good Experiences.  Focus on the past year or two.  Select four of your recent Good Experiences, give them titles, and list the titles.  Choose three of the four Good Experiences to share with your group.  As one person shares, the others write down strengths they hear represented in the stories.  After you share your three Good Experiences, the others tell what strengths they heard represented in your stories, and then they give you the list of strengths they made for you.

3.       (5-10 minutes.)  Look at the lists of strengths you received from the others in your group.  Circle the strengths that most sound like you.  Add any strength you think was missed.  Rename any strength you think should be renamed.  Make a list of your top ten strengths, and rank them one through ten, one being your best strength.

4.       (5-10 minutes.)  For each of your top four strengths, think of two recent Good Experiences that prove that strength to be indeed one of your top strengths.  You may have to think of new Good Experiences, but you can use the Good Experiences you’ve already listed, and you can also use the same Good Experience as proof for more than one strength.

5.       (10-15 minutes.)  Create a strengths poster.  Across the top of a blank piece of paper, write the title, “Four of My Top Strengths.”  Then, list the four top strengths you’ve identified, and after each strength, list your two proofs for that strength.  For each proof, list only a title, or a one-line or two-line summary.  Show your strength poster to your group, and very briefly tell about the four strengths you’ve listed.