Good Life Tips: Personal Strengths

Posted by Jerry Lopper Mar 20, 2007

The new and growing field of positive psychology offers much good advice and tips to help you be happier, more fulfilled, and enjoy a good life.

For more Positive Psychology material see Positive Psychology Tips and Tools in the index.

Good Life Tip:

Researchers find there is a strong correlation between happiness and using one's strengths in daily activities. Use one or more of these techniques to clarify your top strengths:

• Make a list of those things you do really well. Combine and narrow the list until you have only five or six of your top strengths. These are qualities that you have used in moments of greatest pride and satisfaction.
• Ask people who are close to you what qualities they most admire about you.
• Fill out the VIA questionnaire here which provides an assessment of your top five strengths. Compare these results with the above methods and look for consistent areas. Discard any that you disagree with.

Narrow your list of strengths from the above sources to the five or six that feel like they are really you at your best.

• List these on an index card or page posted where you can see it each day.
• Examine each day's responsibilities for ways to use your strengths.
• Look for new ways to use your strengths each day.

As you use your strengths, reflect on how you feel. I predict you'll feel satisfied and fulfilled. The tasks you complete using strengths may even be fun.

Source: Positive Psychology and Coaching, P.A. Linley, class notes, Fall 2006