Character Strengths Matter
How to Live a Full Life (Positive Psychology News)
This is a great introduction to the science of why character strengths matter along with some practical tools on how to go about using those strengths in service to our families and communities so we can experience a deeper sense of joyful flourishing. In this book, Shannon Polly and Kathryn Britton walk us through each of the 24 character strengths identified by the VIA Institute on Character that was created by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson. In our Note, we take a quick look at all 24 virtues and explore some practical ways to apply them to our lives TODAY.
Big Ideas
- The 24 character strengthsLet’s count (all 24 of) ‘em!
- How to grow your virtues1 + 2 + 3.
- What is a unit of Courage?Will power.
- HopeA => B.
- Authentic livingThe science of Shakespeare.
“How can you have a full life? A key step is to leverage your character strengths in service to yourself, your family, your workplace, your community, and your world.
Your first question may be, ‘What are character strengths?’ Borrowing from the words of Christopher Peterson in A Primer on Positive Psychology, we need a ‘vocabulary for speaking about the good life and an assessment strategy for investigating its components.’ Character strengths are the components of a good life. These are qualities valued across time, across nationalities, and across religions as elements of strong and virtuous behavior. They are qualities that we value in ourselves, our friends, our children, our colleagues, and our leaders. …
Your second question might then be, ‘Why do character strengths matter?’ When people are aware of their own character strengths, they use them more intentionally for their own benefit and for the benefit of the people around them. There is, for example, a well-studied exercise for improving well-being that involves using one’s signature strengths in novel ways. … Awareness of character strengths leads to greater energy and involvement in school, family, and work. Learning how to recognize and reflect back other people’s strengths makes us better parents, teachers, bosses, friends, and mentors. Having a language to talk about character strengths makes us more aware of what is strong and nourishing in each other.”
~ Shannon Polly & Kathryn H. Britton from Character Strengths Matter
This is a great introduction to the science of why character strengths matter along with some practical tools on how to go about using those strengths in service to our families and communities so we can experience a deeper sense of joyful flourishing.
Shannon Polly and Kathryn Britton are graduates of Martin Seligman’s Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at the University of Pennsylvania.
In this book, they walk us through each of the 24 character strengths identified by the VIA Institute on Character that was created by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson. (As we’ve discussed, “VIA” is short for “Virtues in Action.”)
The book is endorsed by some of our favorite positive psychology luminaries including: Martin Seligman (see Notes on Learned Optimism, Authentic Happiness and Flourish), Tal Ben-Shahar (Happier, The Pursuit of Perfect), Barbara Fredrickson (Love 2.0), Adam Grant (Originals), George Vaillant (Spiritual Evolution), Ed Diener (Happiness), and Ryan Niemiec (The Power of Character Strengths).
Jonathan Haidt (The Happiness Hypothesis) provides a particularly powerful rec: “This is among the best books in all of positive psychology. It takes one of the most important areas of research—the character strengths—and makes it as accessible, as practical, and as inspiring as could be. I particularly love that it is written for sharing. Every couple and family should have a copy. This will become my standard dinner party gift, instead of a bottle of wine.”
I especially love that last line about giving the gift of virtue in a book rather than wine in a bottle because we played on the idea of becoming “virtue connoisseurs” in Module I of our Mastery Series. Virtue-tasting parties for the win!!
If that sounds like your kind of fun, I think you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did! (Get it here.)
As you’d expect, the book is packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s jump straight in!
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Get the BookThe 24 character strengths
“Part 1 explores each character strength in a separate chapter. Each chapter starts with a definition of the character strength quoted or paraphrased from the book, Character Strengths and Virtues by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman. The articles that come next in each chapter contain stories about the ways that character strengths show up in particular settings. … After the article, each chapter includes five actions to build that character strength.”
Each of the 24 character strengths identified by the VIA Institute on Character gets its own chapter that features a mini-description of the virtue, an article from the Positive Psychology News web site along with five practical tips on how to cultivate each virtue pulled from Building Your Strengths web site followed by an inspiring passage that captures the essence of the virtue.
Wondering what the 24 virtues are? Here ya go:
Appreciation +Bravery +Creativity +Curiosity + Fairness +Forgiveness +Gratitude +Hope+ Humility + Humor + Integrity + Kindness + Leadership + Love and Be Loved + Love of Learning + Open-Mindedness + Persistence + Perspective + Prudence + Self-Regulation + Social Intelligence + Spirituality + Teamwork + Zest.
And… How about we soak our minds in some virtue goodness with a SUPER-quick one-line description of each of those virtues?
Appreciation
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Appreciation of beauty and excellence refers to the ability to find, recognize, and take pleasure in the existence of goodness in the physical and social worlds.”
Bravery
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Bravery is the ability to do what needs to be done, despite fear.”
Creativity
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Creativity involves producing original ideas and behaviors that are adaptive, making a positive contribution to self and/or others.”
Curiosity
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Curios people pursue experiential novelty, variety, and challenge.”
Fairness
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Fairness is the product of moral judgment—the process by which people determine what is morally right, what is morally wrong, and what is morally proscribed.”
Forgiveness
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Those who consistently let bygones be bygones—not because of negative states and traits like fear, shame, guilt, or permissiveness and not because of external incentives (bribes or damages awarded in civil suits) or threats (restraining orders) but from a positive strength of character—display forgiveness and mercy.”
Gratitude
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Gratitude is a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty. Gratitude comes from being aware that one has benefited from the actions of others.”
Hope
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Hope and optimism represent a stance toward the future and the goodness it might hold.”
Humility
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Humility and modesty represent the ability to forget oneself, to be content out of the center of stage, to assess one’s own mistakes and imperfections accurately, to be open to the influence of others, and to put the needs of the group ahead of one’s personal needs.”
Humor
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Humor as a character strength includes a playful recognition and enjoyment of the incongruities of life, the ability to see the light side of adversity, and the ability to make others smile and laugh.”
Integrity
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Integrity, authenticity, and honesty capture a character trait in which people are true to themselves, accurately representing—privately and publicly—their internal states, intentions and commitments.”
Kindness
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Kindness and altruistic love require the assertion of a common humanity in which others are worthy of attention and affirmation for no utilitarian reasons but for their own sake.”
Leadership
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Leadership involves directing group activities toward collective success, creating good relationships among group members, and preserving morale.”
Love and Be Loved
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Love is marked by the sharing of aid, comfort and acceptance. It involves strong positive feelings, commitment, even sacrifice.”
Love of Learning
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When people have love of learning as a strength, they are cognitively engaged. They typically experience positive feelings in the process of acquiring knowledge, and/or learning something completely new.”
Open-Mindedness
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Open-mindedness is the willingness to search actively for evidence against one’s favored beliefs, plans, or goals, and to weigh such evidence fairly when it is available.”
Persistence
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Persistence is finishing what one has started, keeping on despite obstacles, taking care of business, achieving closure, staying on task, getting it off one’s desk and out the door.”
Perspective
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Perspective refers to the ability to take stock of life in large terms, in ways that make sense to oneself and other.”
Prudence
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Prudence is a cognitive orientation to the personal future, a form of practical reasoning and self-management that helps to achieve the individual’s long-term goals effectively.”
Self-Regulation
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Self-regulation refers to how a person exerts control over his or her own responses so as to pursue goals and live up to standards.”
Social Intelligence
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Social intelligence involves insights into one’s own motivations and the motivations of others… and has a moral flavor.”
Spirituality
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Spirituality is also labeled religiousness, faith, and purpose. People with this character strength ‘have coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe and [their] place within it.'”
Teamwork
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… also called citizenship, social responsibility, and loyalty. An individual with this strength, ‘has a strong sense of duty, works for the good of the group rather than for personal gain, is loyal to friends, and can be trusted to pull his or her weight.'”
Zest
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Vitality refers to feeling alive, being full of zest, and displaying enthusiasm for any and all activities.”
Now it’s time to put those in action!
Humble individuals are less driven to impress and dominate others, and they tend to be less driven to collect special benefits for themselves. They experience a different benefit, being free from self-preoccupation. After all, the need to maintain an inflated self-image can be a psychological burden.
Happiness equals love—full stop.
How to grow your virtues
“… you might ask, ‘How do I grow my own character strengths and the strengths of my children, colleagues, and friends?’ Ryan Niemiec, an expert on character strengths development, has developed a process with 3 steps:
Become aware of your existing character strengths by taking the online Virtues in Action survey at viacharacter.org. It will give you a list of the twenty-four VIA strengths in rank order from the strength you express the most to the one you express the least. You will be joining over three million people from around the world who have already taken the VIA survey.
Second, explore the strengths that interest you, especially the ones that are your signature strengths, the ones that you apply most naturally in multiple settings and that bring you the most energy. You could also explore other strengths, such as the ones at the bottom of your list. Sometimes there is benefit in investing time developing a strength that does not come easily to you. Think about ways that you already use your strengths, as well as ways you might be overusing or underusing them.
Third, take action to use your strengths mindfully as you work toward goals or solve problems in your life.”
Want to know how to grow your character strengths while helping others grow theirs as well?
Ryan Niemiec, the Education Director of the VIA Institute and author of The Power of Character Strengths, tells us that there are three steps.
First: Become
AWARE
of your strengths by cruising on over to
to discover your strengths. (Note NINE (!) million people have now taken the survey.)
Second:
EXPLORE
your strengths—thinking about ways you already use them and ways you can start using them.
Third: Most importantly
TAKE ACTION
and put those strengths to work in your life.
That’s the 1 + 2 + 3 of putting our virtues in action.
When shall we start? How about TODAY?!
P.S. Ryan contributes a chapter to the book. He says: “In the field of positive psychology, one would be hard-pressed to find an intervention with more specific and successful intervention studies than helping people deploy their signature strengths. In a recent study of older adults, signature strengths used in new ways even beat out the other common positive intervention of counting blessings. This intervention has three steps: take the VIA Survey, identify one of your signature strengths, and use it in a new way each day.“
P.P.S. In that same chapter, Ryan tells us about woman who was a “longtime sufferer of depression.” She benefited tremendously from putting her virtues in action and said: “I discovered I have to take my signature strength pill every day. … When I use my curiosity or kindness or gratitude in a novel way, I feel better that day. When I forget to mindfully use a signature strength, I feel worse. It acts like a pill for me.“
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act, but a habit.
What is a unit of Courage?
“Lisa Sampson: ‘How do you measure courage? What would be a unit of courage?’
Robert Biswas-Diener [author of The Courage Quotient]: ‘That’s an awesome question. … I’d say we could call it a will power like a candle power is a unit of light. A will power would be a unit of courage, because in large part, courage is the will to action despite fear. The strengths constellation of self-regulation and willpower is really the crux of courage.’
Lisa: ‘What is your definition of courage?’
Robert: ‘When I was looking at the work that others have done on courage, I realized that there were certain hallmark features: there has to be perceived personal risk, the presence of fear, and an uncertain outcome. Those are the three critical components. Brave actions take place despite the fear, the risk, the uncertainty.'”
Welcome to the chapter on Bravery featuring an article by Lisa Sampson in which she chats with Robert Biswas-Diener about his thoughts on courage.
Note: To have courage, we MUST have fear—which is why Aristotle told us that too much courage us just as vicious as too little. We can be rash or we can be cowardly—neither is virtuous.
And, I’m smiling as I type this, we have David Reynolds’s brilliant quip from Constructive Livingreminding us that: “Anyone who says he isn’t afraid of anything is both stupid and lying.“
He also tells us: “Fear is a healthy emotion. It produces caution, and caution helps keep us alive. Fear, like pain, is unpleasant for anyone, but the discomfort is an alarm that calls our attention to some problem facing us. It is good to be afraid at times.“
And, ultimately he tells us that the only relevant question, NO MATTER HOW WE FEEL (!!) is: “Now what needs to be done?”
So, uh… Spotlight on you. Feeling any fear? GREAT!! Now what needs to be done? :)
Hope
“As I meet with individuals and couples, either in my role as a church leader or in my role as the human resources officer for my employer, I often find people who have lost hope. They have lost hope in their careers, they have lost hope in their relationships, and they have lost hope in their life goals. As I talk to these people and look for some way to help, I am reminded again and again of Rick Snyder and his Hope Theory. In its simplest form, Dr. Snyder taught that hope consisted of three elements illustrated in the diagram from his Handbook of Hope: A => B
The person (A) perceives himself as being capable of producing a route or pathway (the arrow) to a desired goal (B).
All three elements are necessary for people to maintain a hopeful position in life. To have hope, we need to have a goal, we need to believe we can attain the goal, and we need to see a way—a pathway—to attain it. …
I discovered that if we could help people identify which of the three elements of hope they were missing, we could then identify remedies to get them back on track. Some people have no goals. Some people have no confidence or motivation. Others may have goals and confidence, but can’t quite figure out where to take the first step. Sometimes one pathway gets blocked, and they need help figuring another way to move towards their goals.”
That’s from an article by Doug Turner in the chapter on Hope.
HOPE!!! Remember: It’s one of the Top 3 universally powerful virtues.
Doug tells us: “It’s hard to imagine anyone being truly happy without also being hopeful. It’s hard to imagine anyone who is truly hopeful without also being happy. I think they are inseparably connected.“
So… We have a new super-simple diagram: A => B
A hopeful person has a goal, believes they can attain it, and can see a pathway to it.
Quick inventory: How’re you doing with each of those elements? What’s awesome? What needs some work? And how will you Optimize?
It’s hard to imagine anyone being truly happy without also being hopeful. It’s hard to imagine anyone who is truly hopeful without also being happy. I think they are inseparably connected.
Authentic living
“Authentic living correlated positively with happiness. When we have the courage to live authentically, we feel better! This is an example of research catching up with the wisdom through the ages. As one case in point, see how Polonius’ advice to Laertes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet reflects authentic living.
‘This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’
Were he writing it today, with the advantage of this new research, Shakespeare might have added a fourth line, something like, ‘… And thine well-being will shine as a star bright in the northern skies!'”
That’s from an essay by Jan Stanley in the chapter on Integrity.
I always smile when I read that quote from Shakespeare. For some reason, the fourteen-year-old version of me decided that THAT passage would be the first one I EVER pulled out of a book and wrote down to memorize.
Let’s celebrate that moment by reading it one more time and letting the wisdom soak in as we remember the fact that to be authentic literally means to be the author of our own lives…
‘This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’
Here’s to putting our virtues in action as we remember that character strengths matter and may “thine well-being shine as a star bright in the northern skies!'”
About the authors
Shannon M. Polly, MAPP, ACC
