Finally, today you get the last part of the three things you can do to give your happiness a real boost. The decision I made to part this information into three articles is because every step needs time. Every change you want to complete in life starts with little steps at a time. So first, you tried to write down three things you are grateful for, for two weeks. Then you added 'setting a great intention for yourself every morning' and practized this for two weeks. And now, this last part is the most enjoyable; you will focus on your Character Strengths!
Say what!? Yep, your character strengths. Most of us are well aware of the things we are not great at. And sure, we can work on them. Especially people around you probably want you to work on that. But do you know what is even more fun and more beneficial to our mental health? Working on our strengths, working on things that are the essence of our being.
Every change you want to complete in life starts with little steps at a time.
Psychologists have distinguished 24 Character Strengths, like kindness, curiosity, social intelligence, hope, fairness, self-regulation and many (well, 18) more. All these strengths are part of us. It's just that some are more developed than others.
To increase your happiness, it's key to focus on your top 5 strengths. You can do the free survey on https://www.viacharacter.org/ to find your personal top 5, or you give me a cooee, and I'll set it up for you.
Let's say your top strength includes kindness.
Your challenge this fortnight will be. Use one of your top strengths in a new way every day. We will take kindness as an example because, let's be honest, we can all practice kindness. The first day you start with practising kindness to yourself, the next day, you do a random act of kindness to a stranger and another day, you react kindly to your partner instead of annoyed (I promise you, this will blow their mind). Try to be aware of your strength and make a conscious effort to intergrade it in your daily life.
Please, try this for the next two weeks, and I'll be back with more practical information on how to use your strengths to live a more fulfilling life!