Personal Strengths: Shine From Within

Sometimes we are so focused on what is happening around us that we forget that we are the only protagonists of our history. To recognize our true worth, we must first learn to identify and work on our personal strengths.

Knowing your abilities and learning how to express them at their best is essential for living well. Each of us has strengths that we can apply to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual spheres. The benefits will be immense in several respects.

The meaning we give to our life, the quantity of positive emotions and relationships we have, the quality of our goals and our goals depends on this ability . All of this together represents the map of our reality, our moods and the perception of satisfaction that life gives us. Working on your personal strengths allows you to expand this network and grow.

Expand our lives

Some studies confirm that techniques focused on recognizing one’s strengths and correcting one’s deficits positively affect self-esteem, self-concept, goal achievement, resilience and even physical health.

There is no doubt: the strength of a person’s character is the right way to achieve positive goals, summarized in what, after all, each of us aspires to: the perception of well-being.

As human beings we tend to follow a pattern of thinking that leads us to be more affected by negative events than positive ones. We do it automatically: negative emotions and experiences haunt us in an almost cruel way.

Striving to consolidate your strengths helps balance this equation. Negative experiences are inevitable in the course of life; indeed, they are necessary as they allow us to learn, to find new motivation and to implement different strategies. All this contributes to making us grow.

Changing the face of the negative

In no case do negative experiences lived define who we are. It is our personal strengths that can guide us in overcoming difficulties, reminding us that we have all the skills to face even the most difficult situations.

Working on your personal strength helps us to manage and control critical situations. These are techniques closely related to stress management, capable of strengthening our defenses at the expense of depression.

Where to start to identify personal strengths?

Being able to count on this inner strength gives us the confidence to tolerate uncertainties or risks much better. But where to start?

The past is always a good starting point, wondering how we have overcome old obstacles. Analyzing the alternatives that lie ahead of us is also fundamental; many times we can take different paths to reach a single goal, but only one is better suited to our personal strength.

On the other hand, it is important to clarify the difference between strength and talent. From an etymological point of view, talent is an innate predisposition, while strength depends on relaxation and learning.

The 24 personal strengths according to Seligman

Martin Seligman offers us an inventory of personal strengths with the  VIA Inventory of Strength, which measures the degree of each of the 24 strengths, organized according to 6 virtues or categories:

• Wisdom and knowledge: contemplate strengths such as creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, the desire to learn and perspective.

• Courage: the characteristics linked to the achievement of goals, such as value, persistence, integrity and vitality.

• Humanity: includes concepts such as love, kindness and social intelligence.

• Justice: are the purely civilian strengths, such as civic sense, justice and leadership.

• Moderation: protects us against excesses, such as forgiveness or compassion, humility and modesty, prudence, discretion and self-regulation.

• Transcendence: These are the characteristics that give meaning to life, including an appreciation of beauty, excellence, gratitude, a sense of humor, hope and spirituality.

Each of us has five strengths that characterize it. The purpose of Seligman’s cataloging is to help us analyze our strengths to recognize them first, and then develop and amplify them. Our own happiness and the ability to shine with our own light will depend on this.