Stage 2 of 7 · 7 lessons · ~2 weeks

Find your real strengths

Separate skills from strengths, take a free strengths survey as a starting point, then test it against your own stories and what people who know you say.

Start: Strengths, skills and talents

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Take the free VIA character strengths survey and save your top five
Write five proud moments and the strengths each one shows
Send the best-self message to at least five people and collect the replies
Mark one ability that energises you and one that drains you
Use one top strength in a new way every day for a week and note how it felt
Write your three strongest strengths with evidence for each

Start with

ToolFree
VIA Character Strengths Survey
VIA Institute on Character
The free 24-strength survey: a starting hypothesis to test against your own stories

Practise

Greater Good in Action (UC Berkeley)
Guided practices for using strengths and noticing what goes well

Also worth your time

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Carol S. Dweck)ReadPaid
Strengths grow with practice: why a fixed view of your abilities holds you back
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)Go deeperPaid
Quiet strengths, like listening and depth, that loud classrooms often miss

Before moving on: A strengths page with your VIA top five, five proud moments and their themes, at least three stories from other people, and a short list of your three strongest strengths with evidence for each.

Tauseef's advice

Most people from our part of the world were taught to fix weaknesses, not to name strengths, and it can feel like showing off. It is not. Knowing what you do well, with evidence, is what lets you choose well and explain yourself clearly to a teacher, a recruiter or your family.

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).