What I have learned:
From analyzing my Strengths:
1. I plan and analyze my goals well in advance. For example, I typically plan my computer upgrades 6 years in advance, to get the best “bang for the buck” for my needs; I do this by following the “white” (research) papers and investment news to get an understanding of where the technology is heading. Such research and planning goes in most of my important decisions; this allows me to perform well and with few unexpected difficulties.
2. I also have the ability to focus and persist in achieving my goals. For example, studying in the UoPeople is in preparation for a difficult goal that I had set back in 1985. God willing, I hope in 3-5 years to finally achieve it.
3. Finally, I was endowed with …show more content…
I suffer from perennial, chronic migraines. A migraine is not simple headache (Smyres K. C., 2014), but a complex neurological disease that expresses itself in a myriad of symptoms (Smyres K. A., 2012).
a. The pain component is easy to understand; my record had been 23 days of incapacitating pain with nausea (Lee, 2013) that prescription medication could not alleviate.
b. However, equally frustrating is the postdrome phase that follows, which has aptly been dubbed “migraine hangover” (Smyres K. B., 2013); a dense mental fog clouds the brain, while the body feels heavy and numb. During this phase, even the smallest activity feels like climbing a steep mountain.
c. Finally, my migraines follow a vicious loop; typically, when one migraine cycle ends, another one starts a day or two later.
2. Because of this rollercoaster, it is difficult for me to follow a schedule. Since I have this condition from childhood, I have gained enough experience to understand in which phase of the cycle I am; thus, I am able to remain productive by working around the problem. Still, it would have been nice if were able to work …show more content…
My final weakness is a propensity for being stuck in details. I cannot hand over a work, unless I am personally satisfied with it. For example, I have written a book that is almost ready for print. A group of five professors (historians, theologians, and philologists) have checked it, and pressed to me to go ahead and print it. However, for fifteen months I am stuck in some details; thus, it remains dormant as an InDesign file in my computer. In short, I am being over-meticulous to my detriment.
What I’ve learned from analyzing my Opportunities:
1. I have been graciously afforded excellent opportunities for academic growth; for example, participating in the UoPeople. Consequently, this places a huge responsibility on me; I need to appreciate the gifts by being grateful and diligent.
2. Likewise, as a monk and a priest, I have had the great blessing to be surrounded by great mentors. Conscientious clergy, formidably knowledgeable (in liturgics, dogmatics, history, and in canon law), and also very pious and humble. It is these people that made me understand why the laypeople are calling the clergy “fathers.” This presents a unique opportunity for me to grow; an opportunity that is not available to many clergy.
From analyzing my Threats:
1. Considering the above, I would be very unfair and ungrateful to claim that I have threats. Objectively speaking, my only struggle is my migraines; yet, these too, do not constitute a “show-stopper” but just a test to
From analyzing my Strengths:
1. I plan and analyze my goals well in advance. For example, I typically plan my computer upgrades 6 years in advance, to get the best “bang for the buck” for my needs; I do this by following the “white” (research) papers and investment news to get an understanding of where the technology is heading. Such research and planning goes in most of my important decisions; this allows me to perform well and with few unexpected difficulties.
2. I also have the ability to focus and persist in achieving my goals. For example, studying in the UoPeople is in preparation for a difficult goal that I had set back in 1985. God willing, I hope in 3-5 years to finally achieve it.
3. Finally, I was endowed with …show more content…
I suffer from perennial, chronic migraines. A migraine is not simple headache (Smyres K. C., 2014), but a complex neurological disease that expresses itself in a myriad of symptoms (Smyres K. A., 2012).
a. The pain component is easy to understand; my record had been 23 days of incapacitating pain with nausea (Lee, 2013) that prescription medication could not alleviate.
b. However, equally frustrating is the postdrome phase that follows, which has aptly been dubbed “migraine hangover” (Smyres K. B., 2013); a dense mental fog clouds the brain, while the body feels heavy and numb. During this phase, even the smallest activity feels like climbing a steep mountain.
c. Finally, my migraines follow a vicious loop; typically, when one migraine cycle ends, another one starts a day or two later.
2. Because of this rollercoaster, it is difficult for me to follow a schedule. Since I have this condition from childhood, I have gained enough experience to understand in which phase of the cycle I am; thus, I am able to remain productive by working around the problem. Still, it would have been nice if were able to work …show more content…
My final weakness is a propensity for being stuck in details. I cannot hand over a work, unless I am personally satisfied with it. For example, I have written a book that is almost ready for print. A group of five professors (historians, theologians, and philologists) have checked it, and pressed to me to go ahead and print it. However, for fifteen months I am stuck in some details; thus, it remains dormant as an InDesign file in my computer. In short, I am being over-meticulous to my detriment.
What I’ve learned from analyzing my Opportunities:
1. I have been graciously afforded excellent opportunities for academic growth; for example, participating in the UoPeople. Consequently, this places a huge responsibility on me; I need to appreciate the gifts by being grateful and diligent.
2. Likewise, as a monk and a priest, I have had the great blessing to be surrounded by great mentors. Conscientious clergy, formidably knowledgeable (in liturgics, dogmatics, history, and in canon law), and also very pious and humble. It is these people that made me understand why the laypeople are calling the clergy “fathers.” This presents a unique opportunity for me to grow; an opportunity that is not available to many clergy.
From analyzing my Threats:
1. Considering the above, I would be very unfair and ungrateful to claim that I have threats. Objectively speaking, my only struggle is my migraines; yet, these too, do not constitute a “show-stopper” but just a test to