This past weekend, Bob, our oldest son, his girlfriend, and I exchanged the results of our "VIA Survey of Character Strengths" test over dinner. This test -- referenced in multiple positive psychology books and countless articles -- lists your top character strengths after answering over 200 multiple choice questions. It takes 20 minutes to complete, but led to hours of conversation. You can take the test at www.authentichappiness.com.
Being aware of your character strengths lets you structure your personal and professional life around using and developing your specific traits. If "Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty" is one of your top strengths, create group team building activities at work or find local clubs in which you can interact with others while pursuing what you enjoy. If "Curiosity and Interest in the World" is a top strength, pick up a new hobby, download a TED Talk, or spend 20 minutes reading through Wikipedia. If "Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence" is a strength, attend a live concert, find local galleries to explore, or go out of your way to compliment a family member on something they did well.
Positive Psychology tells us to develop our strengths, structure our professional lives around them, and find ways to engage in activities that utilize them.
"Work on your strengths, not your weaknesses. How many of your New Year's resolutions have been about fixing a flaw? And how many of those resolutions have you made several years in a row? It's difficult to change any aspect of your personality by sheer force of will, and if it is a weakness you choose to work on, you probably won't enjoy the process. …But you don't really have to be good at everything. Life offers so many chances to use one tool instead of another, and often you can use a strength to get around a weakness."
Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis
The most interesting discovery in our family discussion was just how different everyone's strengths were. A husband and wife can be perfect for each other and still have drastically different strengths. Oftentimes, it's these different but complementary strengths that enhance a relationship. However, not recognizing these differences can lead to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and stress. Recognizing the strengths of those closest to you may be just as important as recognizing your own strengths.
After you've completed the strengths test, compare your results with the results from last week's activity, "Identify your Top 10 Values." You quickly realize how what you're good at, and what you value, may be different. If one of your Top 10 Values is "Caring," but "Capacity to Love and Be Loved" is lower on your strengths list, you can find ways to care for those around you by using other strengths. Or you could work on that specific strength, and turn it into a personal approach goal for 2012.
Our values and strengths will naturally grow and evolve in time, but what they evolve into is up to us. And it all starts with awareness.
I'm half-way through this book and loving it! Lots of fantastic insight and ways of looking at our own minds and our social interactions that I never thought about before.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fascinating - thanks for the recommendation!