Strengths & Superpowers
Can you think of a time where you have been doing something and you have been so focused and happy in what you are doing that you lost track of time? Chances are, that you were using one of your top character strengths.
Research into personality and character has found that there are 24 universal character strengths that exist across the world. This research led to the creation of the Values In Action Questionnaire (VIA) – which identifies people’s top strengths. The VIA character strengths are:
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Judgement
- Perspective
- Bravery
- Perserverance
- Zest
- Honesty
- Social Intelligence
- Kindness
- Love
- Leadership
- Fairness
- Teamwork
- Forgiveness
- Love of learning
- Gratitude
- Spirituality
- Self-regulation
- Humility
- Appreciation of beauty
- Prudence
- Hope
- Humour
You can discover your personal character strengths profile for free, by taking the scientifically validated VIA Survey. https://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-Survey
According to this research, we all use the 24-character strengths in different degrees, making each person’s strength profile unique to them. The questionnaire will reveal what your top 5 strengths are, and you should feel like they sum up who you are as a person.
The ones at the top of the list are the strengths that you use the most and the ones at the bottom are the ones that you use the least. Of course, you might not agree with this questionnaire (I will save the discussion on the pros and cons of self report questionnaires for my psychology students), but at least it will get you thinking about what your character strengths are and it is useful food for thought.
Another way of discovering what your character strengths are is by simply asking other people that know you to identify them. This is sometimes easier than to try and think of them yourself.
Why would you want to know what your character strengths are?
Knowing your character strengths is not only interesting information, but it is a bit like discovering your superpowers. Once you know them, you can unlock their potential and use them to increase your feelings of wellbeing and happiness. When they are used in the correct way, research shows that they can help to:
- Buffer against, manage and overcome problems
- Improve your relationships
- Enhance health and overall wellbeing
- Develop resilience
- Help work towards achieving goals.
These seem like useful skills to have when studying at S6F!
Using your superpowers
You will know you are using a strength because:
- It feels good - using our strengths often makes us feel happier
- You experience rapid learning
- You naturally want to spend time using strengths
- Time often runs away with you when you're using a strength
- It feels like you're being your true self
- It's important to you (core values)
Video - Getting started with personal statements
Watch the video below to find out how you can use your character strength knowledge to help you write your personal statement.