YOUR SIGNATURE STRENGTHS
'The way is not in the sky, the way is in the heart.' Gautama Buddha

In his book 'Authentic Happiness' Martin Seligman takes an in-depth look at three distinct kinds of happiness that he calls the Pleasant Life, the Good Life and the Meaningful Life. The overall philosophy of the book surrounds:

·        Positive emotion about the past: Contentment, serenity, satisfaction, pride

·        Positive emotion about the future: Optimism, hope, faith, and trust

·        Pleasure: Ecstasy, rapture, mirth, joy, comfort, warmth, and so on

·        Gratification: Flow, immersion, and total absorption in work, love, or play

·        Meaning: Attachment to something larger

Seligman defines the Pleasant Life as being the pursuit of positive feelings and our ability to notice and amplify those feelings. We do this primarily by becoming aware of how we think and feel about different situations - both past and present. Seligman suggests using positive forms of thinking (such as gratitude and forgiveness) to shape the way we view the past and recommends that we re-evaluate the level of pessimism or optimism with we view the future.

The Good Life theory suggests that we can achieve fulfilment by absorbing ourselves in activities that use our Signature Strengths, the positive traits that are most inherent in each of us. The Signature Strengths survey (available freely at www.authentichappiness.org) measures our individual strengths against twenty four strengths that Seligman groups into six sets of virtues: wisdom and knowledge, courage, love and humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality and transcendence.

Signature Strengths:

Seligman's theory is that once we identify and understand our true strengths, we can use these to guide us in our quest for what he calls the Meaningful Life. The same strengths can lead us to career and life choices that are more likely to provide everyday pleasure and long term fulfilment.

In keeping with the title of the book, finding fulfilment in a truly authentic and unique way should be our purpose in life. Looking into our own hearts, not outwardly, is where we are most likely to find the path to what he finally calls 'the Full Life'...the culmination of all of the above.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE
I completed the signature strengths survey some time ago and again, whilst writing this month's newsletter. The results were fascinating. It was pleasing to note that all but one of my strengths were exactly the same. The strength that had dropped from my initial list was vitality - which didn't surprise me in the least given that I have spent the past three weeks fighting a virus!

I was initially surprised to find that my number one strength was the 'appreciation of beauty and excellence'. But when I reviewed the way that I live, this strength is quite clearly, very 'me'. It is evident in my pursuit of perfection, my love of photography, decorating, music, the arts and nature and it helps me to understand why it is so critically important to me to create a business where I feel that my programs and my marketing material truly reflect the high standards I set for myself. The excellence part explains why I set the bar so high and why I believe life is too short to 'save things for best' - as my lovely friend Kirsten reminded me recently. (It is also a great reason to justify to my family why I like the house to be tidy!)

My other strengths are social intelligence, gratitude, the capacity to love and be loved and open-mindedness. For me, each of these validates the choices I have made in my life about career and family.

I use the strengths as a way of guiding me in the decisions I make day-to-day. Simply knowing that vitality is lower on my list of strengths at the moment, has given me permission to stop and rest - something I know my body has been hinting at for a while.

And so I have made a commitment to myself to take it a little easier for the rest of this year. I'm going to invest more time in the things that really fulfil me - I'll cook more and potter in the garden, I'll sit on the couch and have a cup of tea when the girls arrive home from school so that I have time to be fully present to their stories, I will meditate, write, listen to music, read and of course, continue to see a handful of clients.

We are happy for you to reproduce our articles as long as they remain intact and contain the author's details as follows:

'Kate James is a work life balance coach, writer and speaker. She works with professional people who want to enhance their quality of life by making the right career and life choices. You can find Kate at www.totalbalance.com.au.'