You Have an Internal "Signature"!
- Using your innate "Signature" strengths for your well-being
In honor of the Mental Health Awareness Month:
Your Signature Strengths do not change just because you are suffering [mental health issues]…. Your strengths are there, maybe buried down deep, inside you.
Find them out, and feel strong again!”******************************************************************************************
One important way of achieving happiness and well-being is: Living your life, or re-crafting it into, doing as much as possible with what you are naturally good at, i.e., using your internal strengths.
Positive Psychology, aka, the Science of Happiness, has shown that your top innate strengths are at the core of who you are.
They are called your “Signature Strengths”.
It gives you energy and real satisfaction to use these strengths.
Therefore, it boosts your happiness from within to try and use them often or daily.
Being able to use your Signature Strengths often in your life is one authentic route to a happy life.
But what exactly do I mean by “internal strengths” or “Signature Strengths” here?
We all know what physical strengths are.
Physical strengths are not limited to muscle strengths, but they also include our other physical abilities, such as hearing acuity and visual clarity (how good our hearing or eyesight is), motor precision (e.g., hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills), and neural responsiveness (e.g., how quick our brain responses to new information or stimuli), etc.
You will see that each of us has a different set of “physical strengths”. While one may be especially good at some of those physical abilities, another may be good at something else.
While all these can be improved to some extent through training, exercise, or with the help of a device, it is best to be able to do things, particularly as they are related to job or career, that you are naturally good at doing.
It is the same as our “internal” strengths - those personal abilities not directly tied to your physical abilities - such as creativity, perseverance, prudence, humor, capacity to love, leadership, just to name a few.
We are also each good at some of these but less so at others.
Just like the “physical strengths” discussed above, while each of our “internal”, non-physical abilities could be improved to some extent, it is best to be able to use our natural top strengths, that is, our “Signature Strengths”, particularly for our careers.
In daily life, using our Signature Strengths makes us feel “at home” with our lives.
But how do you find out what your internal strengths are?
And more importantly, what are your “Signature Strengths” that represent your core being?
The “Science of Happiness”, through rigorous historical and cultural analyses, has mapped out a fairly long list of human internal strengths that are recognized across time and cultures. Some of these strengths were cited earlier.
Among the long list of human internal strengths, you are good at some, but less so at others.
Those you are good at comprise your personal strengths set.
Some of your personal strengths might have been developed. That is, you are good at only through training or experiences; or some others might be innate to you (i.e., you are born with) but are not at the top of your strength set.
Only a small subset of your personal strengths includes those both among your top internal strengths and also innate to you.
Those are your Signature Strengths - They weave in their own way inside you to form an internal “Signature” that is uniquely, and naturally yours.
That’s why using these strengths feels “at home”, energize you, and gives you a real sense of satisfaction.
Now are you eager to find them out and use them?
Yes, there are ways!
Through much research, the Science of Happiness has developed reliable measures identifying the personal and “Signature” strengths for each person, as well as tested-and-true methods to enhance and utilize your Signature Strengths for the well-being of your career and life.
What if your job, or your life, does not seem to provide much chance for you to use your Signature Strengths?
Hey, there are ways to “recraft” them toward your Signature Strengths!
As an added benefit to our monthly, yearly, and founding subscribers, we offer free, sophisticated assessment of your internal strengths, identifying your “Signature Strengths”, with detailed results and analysis.
Personalized coaching is also offered on using your internal and Signature Strengths, or “recrafting” your job and life toward your Signature Strengths, for personal and career well-being and to fight adversities!
(Graph generated with Craiyon).