We often get
caught up in thinking about what’s not working or what needs improving in our
lives, especially when we face difficulties.
Today is an
invitation to look within for hidden treasures and discover the amazing gifts
we already have.
Signature
strengths refer to those strengths that are organic to us. We each have
capabilities that enable us to move through life from a place of health. We all
know someone who is authentically generous, compassionate, courageous or loyal,
or is an appreciator of beauty. Each of these is a strength, and each of us possesses core sustaining strengths
that are an important foundation to healthy change. We just have to remember
them and actually use them, either when we seek positive change or when life
throws us challenges.
Take a few
breaths and then take a moment to choose one or two words that describe your
strengths that ring true to you about yourself. Some examples could be kindness,
optimism, creativity, faithfulness, playfulness, determination, etc.
How Do You
Respond To Life?
Resiliency is when we can sustain healthy transformations
from leaning on our strengths in moments of stress. We can choose our actions and
ways of being based upon our natural tendencies and the capacities that can
move us forward. This doesn’t mean that we are not vulnerable, and often, we
are often raw and exposed under stress, but what it means is that we won’t
waste time punishing ourselves for who we are not, or ruminating about the
gifts we don’t have. We take the moment of rawness as an opportunity to use the
strengths we do have, while being open to what the moment has to teach us about
growth.
Our energy
follows our attention, so if we put our attention towards our strengths, we develop
them and move forward with this as our new normal.
The next
step is learning how to apply your knowledge of your strength.
Once you’ve
identified your strengths, when a difficult or uncomfortable moment comes, center
yourself and take out your list. Choose one of your strengths. Just one and apply
that strength to your daily life for the next week, even if you only do it for
a moment.
No matter
what life brings, remember that you have more than one strength to bring to the
table and you can apply it in the present moment, becoming the change we seek.
Who can we
become when life pulls the rug out from under us? Our fullest selves, gifted
with the qualities that enable us to rise. We simply must remember what they
are and choose to go toward them.
As you
practice focusing on your strengths, you may have your own insights into your
own behavior and how to handle difficult and uncomfortable situations authentically,
according to your nature. This is a peak experience, providing you with not
only insight and stress reduction, but also improved energy levels, focus,
productivity, happiness, professional attitudes and relationships with a new
and authentic response to life.
