Discovering Your Giftedness
A Step-By-Step Guide
Satisfaction
The last box on the Giftedness Story Summary is labeled "Satisfaction." Look carefully at your story. What was the satisfaction you described in in this story?
The first place to look to answer that question is the box on the Giftedness Story Form labeled "Satisfaction." What did your partner write down when you described what was satisfying about the activity in the story?
Examples:
“What was satisfying about that?”
“That I won. That I came out on top.”
“What was satisfying about that?”
“It was all about learning something new. I just love to learn. I love to understand how things work.”
“What was satisfying about that?”
“Look, someone can tell me I’m opinionated, that I’m hard to get along with, that I’m stubborn. I can handle that. That doesn’t bother me. But when someone tells me I can’t do something—well, I’m not going to stand for that. I’ve got to prove them wrong.” (This person’s satisfaction could be described as demonstrating that they are competent.)
“What was satisfying about that?”
“Because my vision and strategy worked, and all the work I’d put in with that team was paying off. There were vast improvements in how things were running. It was like a well-oiled machine again.” (This person’s satisfaction could be described as improving something, making it work effectively.)
“What was satisfying about that?”
“That I had this idea and made it happen. I mean, you’ve got to realize, at that time no one had ever thought of bringing live animals into a Christmas pageant. They just painted animals on a backdrop or dressed up little kids as sheep or whatever. But my event was like the real deal. It made the thing come alive! That was awesome!” (This person’s satisfaction could be described as bringing a concept to life.)
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What's the Story About?
Another way to identify the satisfaction is to step back and look at the story as a whole to notice what it’s about and what you were trying to accomplish. You may find that the satisfaction you experienced had more than one angle to it.
Example: A storyteller tells about building a stone wall in his backyard. His partner asks, “What was satisfying about building that wall?” He replies, “That I could see the finished product.” So the satisfaction was seeing a finished product and completing the job. But he’s obviously involved in building something, so that suggest that building things may be part of what satisfies him.
Example: A storyteller describes how she got her brother and sister to do chores and keep a schedule while their mother had to be in the hospital for two weeks, during which a blizzard hit their city. Here partner asks, “What was satisfying about doing that?” She replies, “That I was in charge. That I knew what to do.” She took satisfaction in being able to take charge and handle a tough situation. But overcoming that tough situation in itself seems satisfying to her, so maybe she enjoys being able to overcome difficulties and obstacles.
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Using the notes that your partner wrote down on your Giftedness Story Form, along with your own written summary (if you wrote one), work with your partner to try and describe the satisfaction you gained from the activity in your story and write that description in the box labeled "Satisfaction."
Example:
