Many of us spend a lot of time being aware of what we’re not good at, and hustling to get better at that.

Which feels worth it sometimes — for essential skills like communicating with other people, it can make sense to focus on improvement, even if it’s not our forte and might feel hard to learn.

What you may not know — and what researchers in the field of positive psychology have found — is that when we become aware of our strengths, and learn to leverage them, it can have a far bigger impact on our lives than just trying to improve our weaknesses.

“Weaknesses will never develop into strengths. They can only be accounted for, compensated for and managed. Strengths, on the other hand, develop infinitely.”

— Don Clifton

This week, we’ll focus on identifying and managing our character strengths, which Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center defines as “the positive qualities we have — as reflected in our thoughts, feelings, and actions — that promote the well-being of ourselves and others.”

The VIA Institute on Character describe 24 strengths, grouped in 6 areas, also called “virtues.” These strengths are found and valued across the world, and across cultures.

Let's explore the 6 categories!

Wisdom

Which of these “Wisdom” strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

👩🏼‍🎨 Creativity: Do you love to come up with actionable ideas?

🧐 Curiosity: Do you flow easily into new experiences?

👩🏻‍⚖️ Judgement: Do you objectively weigh all sides?

📚 Love of learning: Are you motivated to deepen and expand what you know?

🦅 Perspective: Do you advise with a relevant, and wide-lens perspectives?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if your strength is creativity, perhaps you can find a new way to attack a task. If a strength is teamwork, perhaps you can reframe your task as a way of helping your team get to their goal.

Justice

Which of these “Justice” strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

🤝 Teamwork: Do you excel at collaboration, and helping the team meet its goals?

⚖️ Fairness: Do you treat people fairly, and give all the same chance/rules?

👩‍👦 Leadership: Do you take charge, guide groups to meaningful goals, and care for team relationships?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if your strength is teamwork, perhaps you can reframe one of your tasks today as a way to help your team get to their goal.

Courage

Which of these “Courage” strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

♥️ Bravery: Do you often act despite fear?

💪🏼 Perseverance: Do you love to persist through challenges?

😇 Honesty: Is accuracy and taking responsibility easy for you?

✨ Zest: Do you bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to life?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if your strength is zest, maybe there’s a way you can make one of the tasks on your to-do list more fun this week!

Humanity

Which of these “Humanity” strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

💓 Love: Do you have close relationships with reciprocal warmth and care?

🤗 Kindness: Are you helpful and empathic?

💁🏽‍♀️ Social-emotional intelligence: Are you aware of your own feelings & thoughts, and the feelings of others?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if your strength is kindness, maybe there’s a way you can be generous with yourself or others as you tackle a task this week!

Temperance

Which of these “Temperance” strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

P.S. Temperance is another word for moderation or self-restraint 🙂

❤️‍🩹 Forgiveness: Do you give others grace, and use the information for future relations with them?

🌎 Humility: Do you know your strengths/challenges, while not seeking center stage?

⚠️ Prudence: Do you avoid unnecessary risk, and consider future impacts?

🚦 Self-Regulation: Do you manage your feelings and reactions well?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if forgiveness is easy for you, perhaps you can offer that to yourself if you’re feeling behind schedule, or otherwise falling short of your expectations, while learning new strategies for the future.

Or if you’re good at prudence, perhaps you can appreciate this strength as you plan a project, vacation, or something else — heading off any pitfalls as you do.

Transcendence

Which of these “Transcendence” Strengths do you enjoy, or come most easily to you?

👏🏼 Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence: Do you deeply appreciate beauty in the world, and the skills that people around you have?

🙏 Gratitude: Do you feel and express gratitude often?

🌱 Hope: Are you realistic and full of optimism, believing all will turn out well?

🤣 Humor: Do you approach life playfully, and enjoy finding humor in stressful situations?

🧘🏽‍♀️ Spirituality: Do you believe in a sense of purpose, and find meaning in everyday life?

If 1-2 of these strengths resonate with you, we invite you to intentionally bring them into your day today.

For example, if humor is easy for you, perhaps you can spend a few moments at the end of your day writing down a few funny things people did or said today.

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We hope our theme this week helped you find new ways to think about your strengths, and how to leverage them! Our community is full of people with diverse and important strengths, and we're glad to have you here.

P.S. If you could use help accomplishing your goals this month with support from our amazing community, please join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions!

Take care,

— Anna, focused space host