ChangeMaven.comThe Practice of Personal Change

Traditional psychoanalysis has conditioned us to focus on what is wrong with us. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), for example, is exactly what it sounds like—a classification of mental disorders. Only in the past several years has there emerged an authoritative classification of personal strengths.

Psychologists, Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, led an exhaustive study of major religious and philosophical traditions to classify and measure which human strengths were universal. The results of the study indicated that there were six common virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, love and humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality and transcendence.

These virtues are comprised of individual personal strengths that can be practiced on a regular basis. By knowing your top personal strengths, you can focus solely on doing what you do best, make up for your weaknesses, and live a smarter, more authentic life.

In order to find out what your top personal strengths are, go to www.authentichappiness.com and take the VIA Strengths Survey.

I took the test and my top five strengths were:

Zest, enthusiasm, and energy

Honesty, authenticity and genuineness

Love of learning

Curiosity and interest in the World

Fairness, equity, and justice

Of course, surveys are not perfect. But I was pleasantly surprised by the relative accuracy of the results. It confirmed vague notions I had about my personal strengths and gave me confidence to use them more regularly.

There are 250 questions and it takes about 25 minutes, but it’s well worth your time. And I would love to hear about your results.