Human brains “are like Velcro for the negative and Teflon for the Positive.”* If you’re a nurse or physician, you’ve been trained to look for pathology, what’s not right and what else appears with this sign and symptom that is beyond normal limits. This perspective of looking for what’s wrong often carries over to your life outside of work, and casts a shadow everywhere, contributing to burnout. Focusing on strengths can help you be more positive.
Learning about Character Strengths offers an alternative view which you might find uplifting. Look for the positive. The VIA Institute on Character grew out of research around the turn of the century, this century, which looked at character strengths and virtues which are admired cross culturally and across time. The character strengths identified are positive psychologies alternative to the DSM. They provide a vocabulary for identifying healthy aspects of a person from a psychological perspective.
Take the VIA survey to find out what your strengths are. This is a well validated free online self-assessment. There are 24 principal character strengths which have been identified. You may be surprised by the results, most people are a bit.
Studies have shown,
- People who use their strengths daily are happier and more confident.
- “Character Strengths are connected with resilience and buffer people from vulnerabilities that can lead to depression and anxiety.” They provide you with positive perspective toward yourself.
- People who use their character strengths experience a higher level of self-esteem and self-efficacy.^
Using your strengths is helpful in overcoming the low self-value and decreasing the stress response so that you are less exhausted. Recognizing and integrating your strengths into your daily life can help you move toward well-being as you recover from these major aspects of burnout identified in the Maslach Burnout Inventory .
So, check out the survey. Once you know your strengths, be sure to use them.
To deepen your understanding and use of strengths for your well-being and that of your staff, contact me.
Revitalize Your Life,
Dina, 203.744.YOU3 (9683), Well-Being Coach
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“The real tragedy of life is not that each of us doesn’t have enough strengths, it’s that we fail to use the ones we have.” Buckingham and Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths
*Rick Hanson from Buddha’s Brain
^ information from VIA Institute on Character
