We’ve all got strengths! The trick is recognising them and finding ways to build them into our lives and share them with others. Bringing your top strengths to the fore has been found to improve happiness, confidence and job performance.
American non-profit organisation the VIA Institute on Character have created a great online survey to help people find their hidden strengths. The 10-15 minute survey has been scientifically proven to identify character strengths. There are 24 strengths in total, including curiosity, creativity, teamwork, fairness and leadership.
We’re big fans of the VIA survey because using it to discover your strengths, and then putting these into action, is proven to boost wellbeing.
Benefits of using your strengths
- Increase happiness
Knowing your strengths and using them is scientifically proven to increase your life satisfaction. Using your top strengths in a new way has been shown to increase well-being and decrease depression. - Strengthen your relationships
VIA's research shows that understanding and appreciating your partner and friends' character strengths is connected with better relationships and a deeper connection. - Boost your confidence
Researchers have also found that people who use their character strengths experience a higher level of self-esteem and self-confidence. - Reduce stress
Knowing and using our character strengths has been found to improve our ability to cope with stress, while also decreasing the negative effects of stress.
Head to our strengths quiz, and once you're done...
- print and share your results
- check out our top tips for putting your strengths to use
- Make a poster of your team's strengths
Canterbury, you're awesome!
In 2016, more than 5,000 Cantabrians discovered their hidden strengths using the VIA Survey.