Character Strengths lead to Strength of Character

1. Love

2. Spirituality

3. Gratitude

4. Honesty

5. Kindness

Positive Psychology is a growing focus in the realm of psychology. The idea is that you can utilize many psychological tools to positively impact your life and well-being. One of the foundations of positive psychology focuses on character strengths. After a lot of research it has been proposed that there are 24 signature strengths we all possess. Knowing your strengths can help you utilize your strengths to their fullest potential.  

The list I started with is the list of my top 5. According to positive psychology if I focus on utilizing these strengths daily, I will have better well-being.

What are your strengths?

https://www.viacharacter.org/

VIA Institute on Character offers an opportunity to take the free assessment. I encourage you to take about 10-15 minutes to take the survey and discover your top five.

This website also offers an opportunity for youth, age 10-17,  to take the assessment.  This would be a great mindfulness opportunity for your classes one morning. You can help your students discover their strengths. Once they understand their strengths, they too can begin to build on them and utilize them daily.

For younger students, after you have taken your assessment, you can share about how we all have strengths that help us. You could share with them your strengths, share with them the full list of strengths, and then ask them what they think they are best at and what strengths they have. 

It would be a benefit to you and your students to make a list of strengths belonging to the students. Then when you see them utilizing their top strengths you can point it out with praise. You could even utilize their list to help them build on lower strengths and encourage them when you see them working to do better at a bottom strength. Studies show that people respond well to praise for their strengths and are happier and more productive.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see your students grow as people, be happier, and reach their fullest potential?

Wouldn’t be wonderful if you could see yourself grow, become happier, and reach your fullest potential?

I would love to be able to continue to utilize some of my stop strengths to help you. Utilizing my love, gratitude, and kindness; I still have treats in my office to share. I would love to see you, have a quick hello, share some chocolate, and wish you a great day! If you came by Monday for World Gratitude Day and picked out some gratitude, feel free to come by again and receive more kindness.

Let's have a vision for this year that focuses on building strengths in ourselves and others. During difficult times it is easy to focus on what we cannot do and where we lack. If we take time to find our strengths and the strengths of others we can build positivity and optimism.