Throughout the past week I have emailed, phoned, texted, and skyped friends and family from Australia to all over the world to receive input on my personal strengths and weaknesses that make me different and distinguishable. Through this process I have learned a lot about who I am and how I can both show my strengths in a dynamic way and also be conscious of my weaknesses and make an effort to work on them. Through analyzing the congruences between my self analysis and what others think of me, I was able to gain really important insight on myself as a person and how I can reposition myself to be more successful.

Strengths

The responses I received on my strengths were very much so a confidence booster and made me feel like I have something to contribute to the world. One of the common themes through these responses was my ability to put people at ease and be welcoming and outgoing. Many said I am easy to have a variety of conversations with. I really appreciate this response because connecting with people is something that I value in myself and see as an important characteristic to have. I really enjoy getting to know new people and learning from their experiences and personalities. For example, I am abroad this semester in Australia, and this past summer I studied on Semester at Sea. In both situations I knew no one coming onto the program, and meeting so many new people was so exciting and a great life experience for learning and growing. 

Another strength that was common in my responses was that I am very motivated and passionate about what I put my mind to. I can definitely agree with this, and I think that this resonates in my passion for the environment and sustainability. I try to live my life conscious of the environment we live in and I value a sustainable lifestyle, which I think is evident if you know me well. I am interested in a variety of things, such as music, food, the outdoors, yoga, photography, etc and I tend to go full force in what I decide I want to do. I become dedicated to whatever I decide to focus on.

I am extremely independent, and I speak my mind, and that is something that my family and friends agreed with me on. I think that this is a strength because I bring new ideas to the table, and I don't always think about things in the way most people do. This may also be a flaw. I tend to do my own thing and it seems to work out pretty well. Being independent allows me to make decisions and not be as influenced by others. I go with my gut and have my own opinions that shape me. I think that being independent is good as long as you allow people to help you when you need it.

Weaknesses

I had a lot of difficulty obtaining weaknesses from my friends, but fortunately my family had a few things to say on that front (haha) so I got some good insight as to where I can improve in myself as a brand and as a person. I found a few congruences:

In both my own opinion and the opinions of my friends and family one major weakness I possess is impatience. I tend to want to get things done when I want them done, and I don't like to wait around. I've always struggled with this because its just inherently in my character. I try my best to be understanding and go with the flow when things get delayed or they don't go my way time-wise. This flaw makes me very organized and task-oriented, but patience is a virtue and I need to take a step back sometimes and be more calm. 

I found it funny when my Dad told me that one of my weaknesses was that I try to do things too quickly sometimes because I wrote that down about myself as well and I could not agree more. I get involved in a lot of things because I have such a variety of interests, and subsequently that turns into unfinished projects and getting ahead of myself. I get very excited about potential projects and activities, and sometimes I have trouble just narrowing it down to a few and executing them really well. If I can just pick a few and stick to them, I would be able to complete my projects very well. 

Another weakness that I possess is a bit specific: I am a terrible public speaker. My friends are typically very surprised when I say that, but it is so true. I get unnecessarily anxious to almost a debilitating level and my execution is simply not what it could be during presentations. I took pubic speaking freshman year and hated every single minute of it. They are never as bad as I think they are going to be, but I build them up in my head and my voice gets shaky and I just feel like I am going to faint. I know this is a common thing for many people, but it really bothers me about myself. Now that I am in Australia I am taking courses that involve presentations, and I am doing that for a reason. I will never get better unless I practice and keep practicing until it is no longer an issue for me.

Feature Benefit Model

I think that my "feature benefit" is ultimately being able to connect and communicate with people effectively. I really enjoy talking to people and getting to know them, whether it be in school, at a coffee shop or just on the street. I think that this could be very beneficial in my career and could help me to succeed in whatever it is I decide to do because I try my best to relate to people and make them feel comfortable. This combined with my passion for what I want to do and motivation to do it really make me into the person I am and distinguish me from others. I definitely have flaws, and these weaknesses sometimes get in the way of me reaching my goals, but I am constantly trying to work on them make progress constructively and positively.

More photos of my travels available on my Tumblr : http://kileymariemiller.tumblr.com/