Tag Archives: strengths

Personal Strengths–An Expanding View

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Susan K. Minarik

“Using our strengths is the smallest thing we can do to make the biggest difference,” says founder of Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP), Alex Linley.

The idea has been around for centuries: To live our best life, we need to play to our strengths. Aristotle said so 300 years BCE. But when asked, only about a third of us can name our own best strengths.

Can you? Do you know what your top strengths are? Can you spot them in your partner? Your kids? Your best friends?

How might it impact your life—and theirs—if you could?

That’s what this post is all about.

Why Strengths Matter

When you’re aware of your strengths, you can leverage them to create a happier, more authentic, fulfilling, engaged and productive life. And isn’t that what we’re all after?

Not only that, but when we put our strengths to use, doing what we do best and most joyously, we contribute more to our families, communities and, indeed, the entire world.

Recognizing and encouraging others’ strengths enables them to be their best as well. When you notice and openly appreciate the strengths of your partner, child, coworkers or friends, they feel truly seen and uplifted.

In fact, in his book Average to A+, Dr. Linley makes a strong case for the proposition that we have a responsibility, not only to ourselves, but to civilization itself to use and develop our strengths.

What Are Strengths, Exactly?

All living things share the tendency to grow, to develop, and to realize their potential, humans included. Each of us has within ourselves a kind of internal compass that directs us toward the paths that will lead us toward becoming the best that we can be, that provides us with a sense of what is right for ourselves. To the extent that we follow its guidance, we live authentically, in harmony with our unique individual self.

Our strengths represent our alignment with that internal compass. They’re signaled by our personal combinations of interests, natural capabilities and preferences. And it’s when we put them to use in our lives that we feel most authentic, energized and fulfilled, confident that we’re being who we were meant to be.

Strengthspotting

The scientific study of strengths is a relatively new field and so far only some have been named that meet the researchers’ strict definitions of “strengths.” The VIA Strength list counts 24; the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) names 60. But the list is expanding all the time and researches agree there are probably hundreds of strengths.

In practical terms, it doesn’t really matter what you decide to call a strength. Dr. Linley says that whether you can name a strength succinctly in one or two words or not, it will have the same impact if the label you give it is meaningful for you. So feel free to make up your own labels for your strengths.

When you’re working towards spotting a strength in somebody else, check with them when you think you have identified one and see if they agree on your description of what you observed. People love to have their strengths noticed and identified, and looking for others’ strengths will help you been more aware of your own and of the ways that all of our strengths contribute to the world.

The key to identifying your strengths is to think about the kinds of things that make you feel most alive, that feel like “the real you.” They’re the sorts of things that you look forward to doing, that catch your interest the most, that you learn most easily and do quite naturally and well.

Here are some other clues that Linley says you can use for spotting strengths:

You feel really energized and engaged and may lose track of time when you use them.
You learn new information or skills quickly in the areas associated with your strengths.
You tend to succeed when you use them and to do well
You don’t procrastinate about things associated with them; in fact areas involving your strength have a great appeal and you tend to give them priority attention and time
You love using them, even when you’re tired or stressed or otherwise worn down.

Strengths Surveys You Can Take

Positive psychologists are hard at work to identify strengths formally and have developed formal assessments that you can take that will tell you what your strengths are. The classic measure is called the VIA (Values in Action) Survey of Character Strengths, and you can take it or a Brief Strengths Test online for free here. (You’ll have to register; but your info is completely safe at this site, run by the University of Pennsylvania.) This survey measures 24 strengths that are rooted in your core values. (See “What’s Right with You: How to Discover Your Personal Strengths,” and “The 24 Personal Strengths: An Overview.”)

For a small fee, you can take the interesting “Realise2″ strengths assessment from CAPP that measures 60 strengths. I strongly recommend the Premium Profile for the additional information it gives you. You can read about its enhanced features at the site. The Standard Profile is fine, too. (I am not affiliated with either survey or organization, by the way, and receive no commissions from them.)

While you’re at the CAPP website, take advantage of the free downloads of additional strengths and strength-spotting information under the “Resources” tab. And be sure to check out the “Strengths Dynamics” tab at the site where Alex Linley publishes interesting new strengths-related essay every two weeks. Regardless which strengths are yours, his tips give you great ways to apply them.

Personally, I found both the VIA and Realise2 assessments extremely valuable in terms of the insights they gave me. Both did an excellent job of identifying strengths that I heartily agreed were really “me,” and knowing them felt genuinely empowering.

The top strength the VIA assessment identified for me was “Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence,” and CAPP’s Realise2 assessment identified my top strength as “Scribe.” Obviously, I love writing, and I love promoting excellence here at Positive-Living-Now, and sharing my love of beauty with you at High on Happiness. Each survey captured a different side of me and I related to them both.

The additional strengths the surveys named for me validated other aspects of my life that I highly value and consider central to who I am.

That’s what identifying strengths does for you: it validates and encourages you. It confirms your sense of who you are and that you’re on the right track.

Start thinking about your own strengths today. What values and activities turn you on the most? See if you can names some, then take the assessments so you can think about your strengths in depth.

As Lindley said, it’s a small thing to do, but it can make a really big difference—both in how you see yourself and in how you live your life.

Speaking of validation, if you enjoyed this article, you can validate my efforts in writing it for you by clicking “Like” or “+1” below. Thanks! I appreciate it!

Photo: istockphoto.com

Posted in Interests, Aptitudes & Abilities, Positivity Practices | Tagged identifying strengths, personal strengths, strengths, strengths assessments | Leave a comment

Perseverance: The Power of Keeping On

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Susan K. Minarik

Unearthing the human strengths that would serve as the basis for a new psychology was an act of perseverance in itself.

The small team of psychologists who set out to build a science of human thriving dug through over two hundred “catalogs of virtue,” as Dr. Martin Seligman called them, from “traditions flung across three thousand years and the entire face of the earth.”

When they had finished their digging, they had a list of six virtues that were endorsed by almost all religions and philosophical traditions:

Wisdom and knowledge
Courage
Love and humanity
Justice
Temperance, and
Spirituality and Transcendence

And it was from these virtues that they developed the 24 character strengths that express them. Their perseverance paid off, creating a solid foundation for building the new science of positive psychology.

Perseverance is Courage in Action

But that was just the beginning. They had a long way to go.

It took more long hours of thought and study to figure out what made a particular trait a genuine strength and then to identify the ones that expressed the six virtues.

And they had to keep going even when their peers scoffed at their goals or dismissed their efforts as futile.

To persist in your efforts when the going gets tough takes courage. The temptation to quit, to throw in the towel and give up can be strong when you’re tired, when the work seems overwhelming, when you’re not getting much support from others. And courage is exactly the virtue that perseverance expresses.

A Definition of Perseverance

When you look at the list of 24 VIA (Values in Action) Strengths, you’ll see that perseverance is also associated with industriousness and diligence because the three traits are so similar in the real world. Here’s a definition ofperseverance from Dr. Seligman that gives a clear picture of it:

“You finish what you start. The industrious person takes on difficult projects and finishes them, ‘getting it out the door, with good cheer and minimal complaints. You do what you say you will do and sometimes more, never less.”

If that describes you, congratulations! Perseverance is probably one of your signature strengths. But if, like me, finishing what you start takes genuine effort and determination, don’t give up hope.

Building Your Stick-to-it-ivity

Unlike inborn talents, strengths are traits we can build. Each of us has his signature strengths—the ones that seem so natural that we take them for granted, the ones that others easily see in us and that energize us when we’re using them. (Note that the person who has perseverance as a signature strength not only gets things done, but does them cheerfully. She gets a charge from wrapping things up.)

Perseverance is such a valuable character trait (I’ll talk about why in just a minute.) that Napoleon Hill, in chapter nine of his famous book Think and Grow Rich, says the four steps you must take to develop it are “essential for success in all walks of life.”
The four steps he gives are:

A definite purpose, backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment;
A definite plan, expressed in continuous action;
A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances; and
A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

Sounds a little daunting, doesn’t it? Well, part of that is the way Hill says it. His language is a little over the top for us today. What he’s really saying is nothing more than have a goal you care about and a plan for moving toward it. Ignore what everybody else says about your goal; make up your mind that you are going to do it no matter what. Then enlist the committed support of a trusted friend or two and get going. Take one little step after another, after another, after another.

Why Bother?

Let’s look at the first step: Have a goal that you care about.

If your goal is going to be “to build my persistence,” you have to know why it’s important to you. That’s a quality all good goals have, by the way; they’re genuinely meaningful to you on a personal, heartfelt level. It’s the “why” of a goal that gives it motivating power.

So what’s in it for you that would make building your ability to to finish what you start worthwhile? Mental health counselor Mike Bundrant offers these powerful benefits:
1. Self-Respect: “No matter what you are struggling with,” he says, “—no matter what—you will respect yourself more if you keep up the good fight. Every day that you continue efforts to make progress, you know within yourself that you are doing all you can.”
2. Hope: Because perseverance tends to pay off, it gives us hope, Mike says, for the days ahead.
3. The Passion of the Struggle: (And personally, this is my favorite one.) “In a deeper way, those who valiantly persevere through the difficult challenges of life share something in common with the greatest people who have ever live. Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged people who simply kept on going.”

But there’s more. Not only do you develop an enhanced sense of self-respect when you consistently get things done that you set out to do, other people learn that you can be trusted to follow through, too.

Especially in the work place, a reputation for being able to get things done, thoroughly and on time, is a tremendous asset. People begin to think of you as reliable, as someone they can trust with projects that matter. In every walk of life, the ability to deliver what you promised is seen as the mark of a leader.

Knowing that you will finish what you began builds your confidence in yourself. Your goals become more real to you because you know you won’t abandon them when the going gets tough. You might falter. You may need to start again and again. You might need to revise your plan or to find a new strategy or method. But when you know, as a certainty, that you will find a way and keep on keeping on, you will find yourself daring to accomplish more, and bigger, and more beautiful dreams.

Posted in Exploring Positivity, Positivity Practices, Resilience and Grit | Tagged character strengths, courage, goals, perseverance, persist, strengths | Leave a comment

What’s Right With You: How to Discover Your Personal Strengths

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Susan K. Minarik

Want to know one of the top ways to put more meaning, satisfaction and joy into your life? Identify your signature strengths and bring them into play in as many ways as you can.

Over and over again, that’s what the positive psychologists say. Your personal strengths reflect your core values and provide you with a sure sense of direction. They energize and satisfy you and let you feel real and whole. Living in alignment with them is living well.

When you put your values into action through the expression of your strengths, you’re living authentically, from your heart. And that is where the deepest joy is.

But what, exactly, is a strength? How is it different from a skill or a talent? How can you discover your own top strengths?

“A Classification of the Sanities”

A little over a decade ago, when Dr. Martin Seligman was initiating the field of positive psychology, he realized he needed a way to define the qualities demonstrated by psychologically healthy, thriving people—to come up with what he called “a classification of the sanities.”

Toward this end, he recruited Dr. Christopher Peterson, director of the clinical psychology program at University of Michigan and a world authority on optimism and hope, to lead a study that would result in an authoritative classification and measurement system for the human strengths.

“One of the first tasks that Cris set,” Dr. Seligman writes in his book Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, “was for several of us to read the basic writings of all the major religious and philosophical traditions in order to catalog what each claimed were the virtues, then see if any showed up in almost every tradition.”

To their surprise, “almost every single one of the traditions flung across three thousand years and the entire face of the earth endorsed six virtues:

Wisdom and Knowledge
Courage
Humanity and Love
Justice
Temperance
Spirituality and Transcendence”

But while these characteristics were almost universally endorsed as the qualities that make up the good life, they were too abstract to measure in human behavior. So the next step was to identify the measurable strengths that were the means through which these virtues were expressed. Dr. Seligman calls them the routes to the virtues; by walking the paths the strengths described, you become virtuous—a good human being.

Next, the Seligman-Peterson team developed criteria to define what a “strength” is, and finally ended up with two dozen traits that qualified. At last they had their “classification of sanities,” and from this base, the whole science of positive psychology has evolved.

Strengths, Talents and Abilities

Strengths are moral traits, traits of character that people can acquire and build. Talents, on the other hand, are inborn gifts. If you have a talent, you can hone and refine it to some degree. But if it’s not a part of your personal make-up, you can’t will yourself to acquire it. You either have a talent or you don’t.

Like strengths, abilities are acquired. But while they may provide you with a sense of competency and allow you to perform adequately in a given role, unless they’re related to one of your signature strengths, they don’t necessarily bring you satisfaction or joy. You can learn, for example, to be a highly competent engineer or accountant or assembly line worker and discover you really don’t like the work at all.

Strengths make you feel good when you use them. Because they represent your core values—the things you deeply and authentically care about—they give you a sense of purpose; they feel meaningful and satisfying. They’re inspiring and elevating. And when you put your own best strengths into action, you feel like you’re being “the real you.”

Why Should I Identify My Strengths?

Once you know your key strengths, you’re empowered to find more and more ways to employ them. You can begin to look for opportunities to express them in all the arenas of your life, becoming more and more authentic and heart-centered in all you do. The value-centered life is the good life—as identified across the centuries and across the world’s cultures.

How Can I Find Out My Personal Signature Strengths?

You can take the VIA Character Survey at no cost at two places online: here and here. You only need to register, and your privacy is assured. The survey is nearly identical at both places, and both sites are worth exploring for their host of additional resources.

The Survey is composed of 240 questions and takes 30-40 minutes to complete. Even if (like me!) you ordinarily dislike completing surveys of your preferences, it’s well worth your time to make the effort. You get your results back right away, with a list of your personal strengths ranked in order.

When you do, focus on your top five personal strengths. Take a look at the in-depth description of them that you’ll find under the “Classification” tab at the VIA Institute on Character site. (Personally, I thought this was especially rewarding—as if someone was describing me the way I really see myself, deep down.)

See which of your top five feel most like you and whether one or two maybe don’t resonate with you with quite as much power. Dr. Seligman suggests that you ask yourself some questions about your top five strengths:

How attractive is each one to you?
How easily did you acquire it? Did it seem automatic? Second nature?
How strong is your desire to use it in more ways in your life?
How much energy does it give you when use it?
How much joy, zest, enthusiasm and even ecstasy do you feel when you’re using it?

The ones that have the most of these qualities are your “signature strengths.” You’ll want to focus on bringing them into play in as many ways as you can because you’ll feel so good, so alive and so real when you do.

Set aside the time to take the survey as soon as you can. It’s one of the most worthwhile and rewarding actions you can take to enrich your life and expand your well-being. I guarantee it.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy Personal Strengths – An Expanding View

Posted in Interests, Aptitudes & Abilities, Positivity Practices | Tagged personal strengths, signature strengths, strengths, top five personal strengths | 3 Comments