What are Character Strengths?
Imagine this…
It is Monday morning, and you are having a rough start to the week. Your commute to work took an extra 15 minutes making you late to an important meeting causing you to already feel stressed and behind on your assignments.
You decide you could use an extra energy boost and a coffee sounds like a good way to get refocused. You head out to the coffee shop closest to your office where there is a long line. Seems like everyone needs an extra coffee this morning,and while you are waiting, those feelings of stress rush back, so you start planning out your attack for when you get back to your desk for how to best utilize your time. Meanwhile your phone is pinging with messages and emails just waiting to be opened.
Finally you get to the front of the line where the barista pleasantly asks, “What can I get for you this morning?” You reply with, “I’ll have a hot Americano”. You rush to your bag to get to your wallet, when the barista lets you know that the previous customer offered to pay for the next person’s drink order. You pause and process these words…
For the next few minutes all your worries and stress for the day vanish. A complete stranger went out of their way to do a random act of kindness for you, which has completely changed the direction of your thoughts. Now, your emotion has switched from stress to feeling thankful. You feel more positive about the day ahead. Maybe you start to wonder what it would be like to practice kindness more often.
You keep thinking about it all the way back to the office, and keep wondering what would make someone choose to do that? And for a complete stranger? As you get your computer booted up and begin to sort through your email, you see a newsletter in your inbox that is speaking to the value of honoring character strengths, and recognize ‘Kindness’ on the list. After reading the article, you come to find out that kindness is just 1 of 24 Character Strengths that make up one’s personality.
Character Strengths - What are they?
Your character strengths are the qualities that come most naturally to you. Every individual possesses all 24 character strengths in different degrees, giving each person a unique character strength profile. They are viewed as “who we are” and are part of our core identity as humans for being our best selves.
Everyone is unique, and when you know your own strengths, you can improve your life and thrive. Research reveals that people who use their strengths frequently are 18 times more likely to be flourishing than those who do not use their strengths.
Here’s the full list of Character Strengths
- Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence - You are able to recognize, emotionally experience, and appreciate the beauty around you and the skills of others; you are amazed by nature to art or by life experiences
- Bravery - You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition; you are not afraid of a challenge or experiencing pain; you act on your convictions
- Creativity - You are original and have the ability to think of novel ways to conceptualize and do things; you are artistic and creative
- Curiosity - You seek out situations where you gain new experiences for the sake of it; you find a variety of topics fascinating; you love to explore and discover new things
- Fairness - You treat all people the same and give everyone a fair chance; you believe in equality and justice
- Forgiveness - You are able to forgive those who have done you wrong; you accept others’ mistakes or shortcomings; you give people a second chance
- Gratitude - You are aware and thankful for the good things that happen; you take the time to express thanks; you appreciate the little things in life
- Honesty - You speak the truth and present yourself in a genuine way and act in a sincere way; you take responsibility for your feelings and actions; you are known to be authentic and real
- Hope - You are realistic and full of optimism about the future; you believe that a good future is something that can be brought about with hard work
- Humility - You let your accomplishments speak for themselves; you see your talents but are known to be humble; you do not seek to be the center of attention
- Humor - You like to laugh and tease; you enjoy making others smile; you are known to be the one to lighten to mood and make jokes
- Judgement - You think things through and examine them from all sides; you do not jump to conclusions; you are able to change one’s mind in light of evidence; you are know to weigh all evidence fairly
- Kindness - You enjoy doing favors and good deeds for others; you are known to help and take care of people
- Leadership - You take charge and guide groups to meaningful goals, and ensure good relations among group members; you are able to organize group activities and seeing that they happen
- Love - You value close relationships with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; you enjoy being close to people
- Love of Learning - You enjoy mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge on your own and formally
- Perseverance - You always finish what you start despite obstacles in your way; you have a strong sense of accomplishment when tasks are done
- Perspective - You are able to provide great advice to others; you have ways of looking at the world that make sense to yourself and others
- Prudence - You are careful about your choices; you do not take undue risks; you rarely do or say something that you might later regret
- Self-Regulation - You can regulate well what you feel and do; you are known to have self-discipline and a sense of control of your emotions
- Social Intelligence - You are aware of of the feelings of others and oneself; you know what to do to fit into different social situations; you have a strong sense what makes others tick
- Spirituality - You believe in having a purpose in the universe; you know where you fit within the grand scheme of life; you find meaning in everyday life
- Teamwork - You work well as a member of the group or team; you always are loyal to the group and do your part
- Zest - You approach life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfheartedly or halfway; you live life as an adventure; you feel alive and activated
Source: VIA Institute on Character
Why are Character Strengths important to understand?
Discovering your unique character strengths profile, understanding each strength, and learning how to apply them into your daily life has impactful benefits. Research has shown that knowing your strengths and utilizing them leads to:
Enhanced Well-Being and Happiness
Enhanced Performance
Increased Confidence and Resilience
Also, applying character strengths in life has been scientifically proven to improve self-esteem and self-efficacy, strengthen relationships, manage problems and stress, and accomplish goals.
Tools
To discover your character strength profile take the free quiz using the link below:
https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/surveys/takesurvey
Start by registering a new account to take the free survey. Once you finish answering all the questions your results will appear. The site will give you the option to pay for a more detailed report, but that is not required.
To download a PDF version of your results scroll to the bottom of the results page, on the left hand side in blue there is an option for “printer friendly profile” to click. Once downloaded, the PDF will show up and you can share with your coach or therapist via email.
Final Thoughts and Reflections
Prior to your next session, it is recommended that you take some time to reflect on the results to begin the exploratory phase and gain a deeper understanding.
What was it like taking the character strengths survey? What were you most/least surprised by from your results?
Do you feel like the top 5-7 strengths identify with “who you are” and align with your core identity?
Think about a time when you were successful, happiest, or accomplished something great… which strengths were present?
Give an example of a time when you used one of your top strengths. What did you do and how did it make you feel?
Which character strengths stand out to you and why? Which character strengths do you think would help you accomplish your goals?
Being aware and mindful of your character strengths allows you to express who you are as a human. The more authentically you express yourself you receive acceptance and feel valued by others. You feel a sense of belonging to something bigger. Constantly we get trapped in the brain’s negativity bias with thoughts of what is wrong with me and comparing ourselves to others. What if we start focusing on the goodness within ourselves? What would happen?
