here’s a quiz that provides real insight.
by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms
most of us have an idea about what our character strengths are.
a few years back, a scientist named christopher peterson developed a global list of 24 strengths that all humans have.
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these break down into the following six major categories:
1. wisdom and knowledge:
- creativity
- curiosity
- judgment and open-mindedness
- love of learning
- perspective
2. courage:
- bravery
- perseverance
- honesty
- zest
3. humanity:
- capacity to love and be loved
- kindness
- social intelligence
4. justice:
- teamwork
- fairness
- leadership
5. temperance:
- forgiveness and mercy
- modesty and humility
- prudence
- self-regulation
6. transcendence:
- appreciation of beauty and excellence
- gratitude
- hope
- humor
- religiousness and spirituality
the scientific objective was interesting. because peterson was a psychologist and most psychologists focus on nasty diseases like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the like, i could see how he could get pretty sick of working with sick people.
there was a brand new field emerging called positive psychology which, strangely enough, studied how to get us normal people from, well, just being kind of normal or not sick, to a higher form of wellness called thriving where we were not only healthy but having a satisfied, meaningful, engaged and happy life.
the 24 character strengths are a way to measure how we can tap into our natural character and leverage our best traits to become even better. the fun part is you can take a free test to see what your top five strengths are.
millions of people have taken this test already. you can go online here, register for free and get your scores immediately: https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/ the test you want to look for is the via survey of character strengths, under the questionnaires section.
now what does this have to do with your work day? everything.
i’ll share with you my top five strengths:
- creativity, ingenuity and originality
- curiosity and interest in the world
- gratitude
- love of learning
- leadership
if you know me at all, you are probably nodding your head right now. i use my strengths every hour of the day. from helping my clients think of new revenue lines and new ways to help clients (creativity) to the “i appreciate your business” and “thanks” lines that i put in almost every email (gratitude) to running a group training program (leadership and love of learning), i “walk my strengths.”
take the test. then see how you can change your perspective to see your daily routines through the eyes of each strength you have.
for example, if your key strength is curiosity (actually the most common #1 trait for people), are you always wondering how things are working, how you can do something better or asking why? doing more of that will fulfill you even more, and when you can do that in light of improving the client’s condition or your boss’s condition, then you have harnessed your strength for the good of your workplace.
the next step, once you become aware of your strengths and how you are currently using them, is to tap into them even more. how can you begin to use your strengths more throughout your day in the work you do and at home? you may want to write each of your top five strengths on your calendar, one per week, until the end of the year, so you can have fun with leveraging their usage.
it’s so refreshing to focus on the positive aspects about ourselves for a change instead of the negative. give yourself the gift of knowing your strengths and using them more and more each day.