How To Identify and Harness Your Strengths
People tend to be happier and more satisfied in their lives when using their strengths on a regular basis. The ‘Positive Psychology‘ movement, started by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., emphasizes things like abilities, potential and values, in contrast to the traditional medical model’s tendency to pathologize. So, if you’re looking to make some changes in your life, you may want to start here, by identifying and reflecting on your core strengths as a person. If you would like to identify your strengths, continue reading and take the free VIA Survey of Character Strengths assessment that takes less than 10 minutes and provides a wealth of information to help you understand your strengths. The link can be found down below!
Building on positive strengths
Building on your positive character strengths can help people improve life and emotional well-being, as well as address the challenges and difficulties they are facing. For example, growing evidence indicates that the character strengths of hope, kindness, social intelligence, self-regualtion, and perspective all guard against the negative effects of stress and trauma. Meanwhile, successful recovery from physical illnesses is associated with increases in bravery, kindness, and humor.
Why assess for strengths?
One of the main reasons for assessing positive character strengths is to use that information to better understand, identify, and build on a person's strengths. For example, identifying and harnessing character strengths can help young people experience academic success, develop tolerance, delay gratification, and value diversity. Knowing a person's character strengths provides a lens through which psychologists, educators, and even parents can see not only what makes a person unique, but also understand how to help that person build on those strengths to improve situations or outcomes. For example, one widely researched strategy involves encouraging people to use their signature strengths in a new way each week. One study found that having adults do this every day led to increases in happiness and decreases in depression for six months.
How you can find your Strengths
the VIA Institute on Character identifies 24 character strengths that all people have, with the recognition that some of these are more pronounced or developed in some vs. others. Below is the link to take the free survey to help you find your strengths! .
https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register?registerPageType=popup
