Reflections on Personal Strengths - Case Study Example

Reflections on personal Strengths Name Institution’s Name Instructors’ Name Date of Submission Introduction Positive psychology is used by life coaches and psychologists as a theoretical approach to help their clients attain happiness and success in life. This approach was originally introduced by Maslow, who is better known for his contribution to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Martin Seligman further worked on the theory of positive psychology and refined it. He transformed the approach in psychology changing it from addressing the “wrong with people” only to address another angle of the “good about people”. This new approach seeks to answer the question “what is right with people?” When applied to a personal situation, it borders on self assessment where one assesses his/her strengths, happiness levels and engagement in various relations. There are various tools to assess ones happiness and tools. One of them is Values In Action (VIA) survey of character strengths. In this reflective essay, I have used this tool to identify my strengths and how I can work on them to achieve success career-wise and have a more fulfilling life. From my VIA survey of character strengths score, I have the following strengths ranked from the first to the fifth: bravery and valor; capacity to love and to be loved; creativity, ingenuity and originality; forgiveness and mercy; and hope, optimism and future mindedness. Although this tool measures twenty-four character strengths, the top five are considered the most dominant and core of one’s personality (Stratton-Berkessel 2010). While I acknowledge I have weaknesses and problems as a human being, positive psychology advocates consideration of strengths only. Biswas-Diener and Dean (2010) support this by saying that focusing on strengths and developing them is more effective creating happiness and contentment in life that in seeking to alleviate problems and weaknesses. Strengths Bravery and valor I have always considered myself brave since I was small kid. This virtue has been invaluable in helping me conquer my fears over the years. One of the greatest achievements I did as a child was to learn how to ride a bike with very little assistance. One of the kids in the neighborhood who assisted me with this very new task to me was slightly older than me and not well skilled in riding the bike by then. As such, his assistance was sought of the best available help I could get as my parents had almost given up on training me how to ride. I remember when I was around four years that decided to venture away from our back yard into the street. I cannot recall how many times I tumbled and got bruised as my friend watched and followed closely. One thing for sure is that by that evening, I was very good at riding the bike and I could not wait to show it to my parents. I have maintained this approach to new challenges as far as I can recall. I do not shy away from new challenges whenever faced with some but rather face them headfast. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) classify this as a eudemonic flow experience. The fact that I was faced with a new challenge and the desire to succeed in that challenge acted as a fuel which fired me made me succeed eventually. The other type of flow experience where a person plays a passive role is referred to as Hedonistic approach. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) write that the effects of Hedonistic experiences are temporary mainly because it seeks to repress and manage one’s weaknesses and problems rather than focusing on the strengths. I can recall countless times how my eudemonic experiences have come into play. As I look forward to venture into the labor industry, I count on my bravery to work in any organization and strive to achieve the best. Capacity to love and to be loved Psychology as a discipline recognizes love as one of the strongest emotions. Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman have listed love as one of the three strengths of humanity the other ones being kindness and social intelligence (Biswas-Diener and Dean 2010). Seligman (2002) discuses three descriptions of love as’ 1) ease of getting close to others and being comfortable with it 2) being uncomfortable by being close to others and 3) other people being reluctant to get close as one would like. According to Seligman (2002) each one of them is founded on childhood relationships, especially with caregivers. This implies that my capacity to love and be loved is based on my relationship with my parents and siblings as they are the first human beings I interacted with at a deeper level in the early days of my life. Biswas-Diener and Dean (2010) agree with this though they also indicate that one can learn to love and be loved later in life. So what is this love that I experienced why I was a small baby which remains to be one of my major strengths? Numerous disciplines have tried to define love which has given it a near-mythical identity. Biswas-Diener and Dean (2010) say that “love involves a variety of positive feelings and actions including affection, protection, support and sacrifice” (p. 142). However, love is not defined by teenage infatuations or office relations with coworkers which more often than not are steeped by sexual attraction. It would therefore be wise to alienate sexual attraction from love in order to understand love. This has been very critical especially in making friends with the opposite sex. In most cases, people assume love is best demonstrated through romance. Since I was a small kid, I have come to value friendship with the opposite sex in order to understand love and companionship. My desire to have friends of the opposite sex emanated from the common saying that “Men are from Mars and women are from Venus”. I thus choose to understand the opposite sex in readiness for future intimate relations and marriage. Furthermore, I have also realized that spending time with a plutonic friend from the opposite sex improves my ability to relate better and understand working in a diverse environment. Creativity, ingenuity and originality The VIA test recognized this as the third ranked strength. The test defined explained this strength by saying that I like thinking of new ways to do things and that I am never content with doing things the conventional way. Peterson and Seligman (2006) argue that by being creative, a person must invent new ways of doing things that either meets his preferred style of doing things embedded in his or her character. In the same length, originality must be capable of producing positive results in one’s life or other people’s lives. Therefore, being creative means being able to provide a solution or adapting an existing solution into another use (Bolt 2004). My ability to improvise things around the house counts as my largest component of my creative strengths. Since I was small, I picked up the habit of trying to fix things around the house such as blocked sink, leaking plumbing and so forth. I would start by using duct tape for holding broken leg of a garden table to other minor things. This is one of practices that I have maintained up to date and continue to apply in various situations. In one or another, it has helped a lot in my personal growth as I have always strived to apply gained knowledge in various situations. One of the best examples that I take pride is my own invention in the kitchen, chocolate pancakes. As a person who loves chocolate, I used to demand black forest cakes and muffins as a child. As I grew older, I learned that chocolate was nothing more than the ordinary drinking chocolate in the house with other minor ingredients. I therefore choose to try my hand as chocolate pancakes. This was my own recipe. I was able to adapt a common ingredient into something which I owned and I only could lay claim to it. Up to today, my mom loves to make chocolate pancakes which she loves very much and have even introduced the recipe to a number of her friends. As a tribute, she named the chocolate pancakes after me. The benefits of being original in many areas of life are very many. From a career point of view, being original is important in creating one’s unique own brand that will compete effectively in the labor market. In this age of globalization, mobility of labor is very rampant thereby increasing competition for the available job opportunities. Employers have thus become more specific as to what type of employees they want mainly based on their competences and ability to adapt to different situations. By being original and creative, I can be assured of a greater market in that I am versatile and can provide creative solutions to arising problems in the workplace. Furthermore, as a creative person, I am very good in innovating and improvising things. Forgiveness and mercy Forgiveness and mercy are some of the major virtues in nearly all religions. Though I consider myself remotely religiously but strongly spiritual, I was not surprised to learn this as one of my top five strengths. Though forgiveness and mercy are widely mentioned as key components of any faith and relation, there is disagreement among psychologists of what really forgiveness is. Lopez (2011) writes that psychological researchers are more agreeable on what forgiveness is not as opposed to what it is. Forgiveness is just one of the many reactions to interpersonal transgression such as crime, conflict or betrayal (Peterson 2006). There are many possible reactions to such offenses which may include retaliation, holding a grudge or denying the seriousness of the offence. As a forgiving person, I try not to be vengeful against people who offend me. However, this does not mean that I do not or will not seek legal redress when I am a victim of crime or that I will suspend my feelings. Forgiveness according to Peterson (2006) should is self regulation of emotions by taking charge of them. Lopez (2011) on the other hand defines forgiveness as an intrapsychic process in which the victim internally undergoes a change in thinking, feeling and behaving toward the offender. Lopez (2011) adds that forgiveness is a courageous and gracious response that enables the forgiver to lessen the power of transgression. Hope, optimism and future mindedness. I am one person who tries to see the best in people and hope for a better tomorrow always. I strongly believe that every individual has significant capacity to shape tomorrow through his present day actions. This belief has been very instrumental in planning for my future academically and otherwise. I recognize that the choices I make today will have a long lasting effect in the future. As such, as I hope for a better tomorrow, I try to give today my best to play my part in making tomorrow a better day. Experts in positive psychology recognize that improving on one’s strengths has very many benefits including a more fulfilling satisfying life, lowered stress and depression and better relations with other people (Cassidy, Kreitner and Kreitner 2009). Shupe (2012) says that to improve one’s personal strengths, one need to be aware of them. Tests such as the VIA test helps one identify his or her personal strengths. Thus the first step is being aware of one’s personal strengths. The second way is being persistent. I recognize that none of these attributes that I possess has come to be by accident. I have gained optimism in life through experience. I have to see that behind after every storm is a clam day and that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. When experiencing a trying phase in my life, I always try to encourage myself that tomorrow will be a better day. For instance, failing one employment interview does not mean that the journey ends there. There is need to be persistent hoping that the future holds a job opening for you. By being persistent and rising up against any form of disappointment will surely get me there. References Biswas-Diener, R. and Dean, B. 2010. Positive psychology coaching: putting the science of happiness to work for your clients. London: John Wiley & Sons Bolt, M. (2004). Pursuing human strengths: a positive psychology guide. New York: Worth Publishers Cassidy, C., Kreitner, B. and Kreitner, R. 2009. Supervision: setting people up for success. London: Cengage Learning Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). The mind and evolution: The future of positive psychology. In R. Klitgaard (Chair), Applying the science of positive psychology to improve society. Stauffer symposium, Claremont Graduate University, Los Angeles, CA. Lopez, S. (2011). The encyclopedia of positive psychology. London: John Wiley & Sons Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: a handbook and classification. London: Oxford University Press. Seligman M. (2002). Authentic happiness: using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. London: Simon & Schuster. Seligman, M. E. P. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. London: John Wiley & Sons. Shupe, R. (2012). Tips for improving your personal strengths. Accessed online from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/tips_for_improving_your_personal_strengths Stratton-Berkessel, R. (2010). Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions: 21 Strength-Based Workshops. London: John Wiley & Sons VIA test. 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I have maintained this approach to new challenges as far as I can recall. I do not shy away from new challenges whenever faced with some but rather face them headfast. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) classify this as a eudemonic flow experience. The fact that I was faced with a new challenge and the desire to succeed in that challenge acted as a fuel which fired me made me succeed eventually. The other type of flow experience where a person plays a passive role is referred to as Hedonistic approach.

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) write that the effects of Hedonistic experiences are temporary mainly because it seeks to repress and manage one’s weaknesses and problems rather than focusing on the strengths. I can recall countless times how my eudemonic experiences have come into play. As I look forward to venture into the labor industry, I count on my bravery to work in any organization and strive to achieve the best. Capacity to love and to be loved Psychology as a discipline recognizes love as one of the strongest emotions.

Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman have listed love as one of the three strengths of humanity the other ones being kindness and social intelligence (Biswas-Diener and Dean 2010). Seligman (2002) discuses three descriptions of love as’ 1) ease of getting close to others and being comfortable with it 2) being uncomfortable by being close to others and 3) other people being reluctant to get close as one would like. According to Seligman (2002) each one of them is founded on childhood relationships, especially with caregivers.

This implies that my capacity to love and be loved is based on my relationship with my parents and siblings as they are the first human beings I interacted with at a deeper level in the early days of my life. Biswas-Diener and Dean (2010) agree with this though they also indicate that one can learn to love and be loved later in life. So what is this love that I experienced why I was a small baby which remains to be one of my major strengths? Numerous disciplines have tried to define love which has given it a near-mythical identity.

Biswas-Diener and Dean (2010) say that “love involves a variety of positive feelings and actions including affection, protection, support and sacrifice” (p. 142). However, love is not defined by teenage infatuations or office relations with coworkers which more often than not are steeped by sexual attraction. It would therefore be wise to alienate sexual attraction from love in order to understand love. This has been very critical especially in making friends with the opposite sex. In most cases, people assume love is best demonstrated through romance.

Since I was a small kid, I have come to value friendship with the opposite sex in order to understand love and companionship. My desire to have friends of the opposite sex emanated from the common saying that “Men are from Mars and women are from Venus”. I thus choose to understand the opposite sex in readiness for future intimate relations and marriage. Furthermore, I have also realized that spending time with a plutonic friend from the opposite sex improves my ability to relate better and understand working in a diverse environment.

Creativity, ingenuity and originality The VIA test recognized this as the third ranked strength. The test defined explained this strength by saying that I like thinking of new ways to do things and that I am never content with doing things the conventional way. Peterson and Seligman (2006) argue that by being creative, a person must invent new ways of doing things that either meets his preferred style of doing things embedded in his or her character. In the same length, originality must be capable of producing positive results in one’s life or other people’s lives.

Therefore, being creative means being able to provide a solution or adapting an existing solution into another use (Bolt 2004). My ability to improvise things around the house counts as my largest component of my creative strengths.

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