Strengths in new ways:
In our effort to find new ways to bring our strengths to our lives, here is a list of examples:
Thanks to Jonathan Haidt and Chris Peterson for sharing many of these examples. I’d love if you could comment and share some of your own!
FAIRNESS:
i) Act as a mediator - stay impartial in a disagreement between friends/colleagues despite your beliefs
ii) Allow someone to say their piece without interrupting them
iii) Notice when you treat someone based on a stereotype or pre-conception: resolve not to do it again.
iv) At least once a day, admit a mistake and take responsibility for it
v) At least once a day, give due credit to a colleague you don’t particularly like
JUDGEMENT / OPEN-MINDEDNESS:
i) Every day, pick something you believe strongly, and think about how you might be wrong
ii) Play devil’s advocate - discuss a work-related issue or business problem from the side opposite to your personal views
iii) Go to lunch with a colleague with whom you disagree with on a topic, then after it, make sure you can write their reasoning down and make a decision as to change your mind or not. (E)
iv) Go to a multi-cultural event or church/religious event that you don’t go to normally and ask yourself: How is this culture/religion beneficial to those who practice it? (E)
KINDNESS / GENEROSITY:
i) Do a random act of kindness every day. Make it anonymous if possible.
ii) Send an e-card to a different friend each day
iii) Pick up the whole bill when you are out with friends
iv) Ring a friend/family member/colleague specifically to find out how they are. Ask them how their day was and actually listen to the answer before telling them about your own day.
v) When driving, give way to pedestrians; when walking, give way to cars
CURIOSITY / INTEREST IN THE WORLD:
i) At lunch, eat something new that you never otherwise would have tried
ii) Ask questions in a meeting (if you don’t usually), or find a work-related online forum
iii) Travel to work by a different route
iv) Go to your local library and pick and interesting-looking book - spend 20 minutes skimming it
v) Read an interesting article in your professional/trade magazine
vi) Go to a meeting or lecture on a topic you know nothing about
LOVE OF LEARNING:
i) Read a different newspaper to the one you would usually read
ii) Find a mentor in a different department at work and set up a regular meeting
iii) Think of an area of the business where you know very little and find a colleague who is prepared to help you learn about it
iv) Take up a new hobby
v) Watch your children playing and reflect on how one learns through play
vi) Find a colleague at work who has a skill you want to learn and model them
CREATIVITY:
i) Keep a journal or work on a picture or a poem
ii) Find a new word everyday and use it creatively every day
iii) Pick one object in your office and think of new uses for it
iv) Wear a new combination of clothes/ shirt & tie to the ones you usually pick
v) Enroll in a pottery or painting class
LEADERSHIP:
i) Organize a social get-together for your team or department
ii) Go out of your way to make a new colleague feel welcome
iii) Take responsibility for an unpleasant task at work and make sure it gets done
GRATITUDE:
i) At the end of the day write down three things that went well
ii) Write and send a gratitude letter
iii) Keep track of how many times you say thank you during the day and increase the number every day for a week.
PERSPECTIVE / WISDOM:
i) Think of the wisest person you know and try to live one day as if you were them
ii) Resolve a dispute between two work colleagues, or two family members
iii) Don’t give advice unless asked, and then do so as thoughtfully as possible
FORGIVENESS:
i) Let a grudge go every day
ii) Write a forgiveness letter, do not send it, but read it every day for a week.
iii) When someone does something you don’t understand, stand in their shoes and try to work out their positive intention
TEAMWORK / CITIZENSHIP:
i) Pick up litter that you see on the ground
ii) Volunteer your time to a charity, community group, Parent-Teacher Association, Parish Council etc
iii) Organize a team / department dinner
iv) Act as a facilitator
BRAVERY:
i) Speak up for an unpopular idea in a group
ii) Stand up for someone even if you disagree with them
iii) Protest to the appropriate authorities about an injustice that you observe
PERSEVERANCE:
i) Finish an important task before the deadline
ii) Work for several hours straight without interruptions – divert your phone and don’t check your email
iii) Make a list of things to do and do one thing on the list every day
iv) Notice your self-talk about stopping a task and ignore it. Focus on the task in hand.
VITALITY / ZEST:
i) Do something physically vigorous in the morning
ii) Volunteer for an activity at work
iii) Do something because you want to, not because you need to
iv) Get a good nights sleep, and eat a healthy breakfast to give yourself more energy during the day
v) Say ‘why not?’ three times more frequently than you say ‘why?’
HOPE / OPTIMISM
i) Think of a past disappointment and the opportunities that it made possible
ii) Notice your negative thoughts. Counter them with positive thoughts.
iii) Write down your goals for the next week/month/year and make concrete plans for accomplishing them.
iv) Keep a journal and every night record a decision that you made that day which will impact your life in the long run
PRUDENCE:
i) When driving stay 5 miles per hour under the speed limit
ii) Think twice before saying anything other than “please” or “thank you”
iii) Before you decide to do something, reflect on its likely consequences 1 hour, 1 day or 1 year later
SELF-REGULATION:
i) Start an exercise program and stick to it every day
ii) Tidy your desk or office every night before you go home
iii) When tempted to lose your cool, count to 10 (or until the emotion subsides)
iv) Resolve not to gossip. Stop yourself before you talk about someone behind their back.
HUMILITY / MODESTY
i) Don’t talk about yourself for a full day
ii) Dress in a way that does not to draw attention to yourself
iii) Find a way in which a colleague is better than you. Compliment them for it
SPIRITUALITY:
i) Every day think about the purpose of your life
ii) Meditate or pray at the start of every day
iii) Attend a religious service of a faith unfamiliar to you
iv) For 5 minutes every day think about what you can do to improve the world or your community.
(E) - Updates from @edouard
I also found these tables that might help:
