Recently, I completed the VIA Character Strengths assessment to help better understand myself. I’ve always felt somewhat lost when it came to my own strengths and weaknesses, never quite being sure what I’m good at, and what I need to improve on to become a better version of myself. This survey helped bring some much-needed insight to how I naturally think, feel, and behave, whilst also highlighting how I can apply these strengths in my day-to-day life meaningfully. The results highlight 24 character strengths across different categories like wisdom, humanity, justice, temperance, courage, and transcendence. So, let’s go over my results.
According to the survey results, my top strengths are kindness, love of learning, judgement, curiosity, and the appreciation of beauty and excellence in the world around me.
As a rule of thumb, I enjoy helping others, and making them feel loved and cared for. I’ve known for a few years now that acts of service and quality time are my main love languages, so kindness being my number 1 strength didn’t come as much of a surprise to me when I received my survey results. I always do my best to create a positive environment, both professionally and in my personal life, even in the face of conflict and adversity. Whenever I sense someone is down in the dumps, I try to do everything in my power to help them feel better, even if sometimes it’s at the cost of my own dignity when it’s someone close to me, like I do for my best friend and siblings, as the eldest of 4. Acts of kindness, both big and small, have always given me energy and purpose, so even if I’m having a bad day, helping even one person, no matter how big or small their problem is, never fails to bring a smile to my face.
Even as a young child, I’ve always had a love of learning and an unsatiable curiosity of the world around me. My passion for gaining new knowledge and skills knows no bounds, and I always do my best to approach challenges as opportunities to learn and ask “why?” and “how?”, not as obstacles that are a chore rather than something to enjoy and look forward to. During both primary and secondary school, I often participated in maths exams. In 2016, for example, I took part in the Gifted and Talented Mathematics Challenge held at Upton Court Grammar School. Later down the line in both 2018 and 2019, I took part in the UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge, earning a Bronze Certificate in 2018. Furthermore, in 2019, I managed to earn THREE certificates: a Gold Certificate, the Certificate for Best in my School, and the Certificate for Best in my Year. All these achievements have proven continually through the years just how passionate I truly am about education and exceeding expectations, furthering my own personal index of knowledge repeatedly.
The next strength can also sometimes be a weakness: Judgement. Often, I procrastinate with certain tasks. That is because I tend to not be able to proceed with a project without having at least two or three drafts planned out beforehand. I have a very strong attention to detail, and even though it makes the final products always look stunning and impressive whether it be written, mathematical, or artistic, it also means I take much longer than many of my peers, even if we’ve been given the same tasks and time frames. I always think over every decision I want to make at least 5 times, making sure I haven’t missed any important points, or made a mistake somewhere. I take into consideration as many perspectives and scenarios as possible, wanting my work to always be to the best of my abilities, sometimes even better than I thought possible, for every project and task I take on. I’m always open to new information, and even willing to change my mind on any topic if there is sufficient evidence to support it, which provides many more possibilities to consider, which, whilst it helps improve my work, it also makes the process even longer. As much as I love my critical mind, I am aware that I need to work on processing the information I have at hand faster, since I won’t always have the time to go through every single possible avenue and analyse every part of them.
Finally, I have a large appreciation of beauty and excellence in the world around me, finding inspiration in the most unusual places often. Nature, especially, is one of my main inspiration points. My favourite animal is a jellyfish, as I’ve always had a great fascination with everything that lies below the water’s surface. These magnificent creatures have survived millions of years, always adapting and evolving to their surroundings whilst looking ethereal at the same time. With so many different species and even further subcategories, these animals never fail to amaze me and bring inspiration to my work, no matter what I do.
Whilst the above are my top 5 strengths, I have many more, as done everyone. Ones that I wanted to highlight quickly are my honesty, leadership, fairness, social intelligence, and above all, love. Staying true to myself has always been one of my life goals. Facing challenges that test my morals and intellect, treating others the way I’d want to be treated, encouraging teamwork and empathy, providing motivation for others, and most importantly building strong, meaningful connections with those, dearest to me. Though there are days that I lose sight of myself, I know I’ll always have people in my corner, there to help pick me up and remind me that no matter what happens, there is always good in this world.
My morals stand strong, so do my goals, and my strengths and weaknesses are what make me, me. I am motivated, honest, and hardworking, always striving to better myself and those around me. Knowing now exactly what my strengths have helped me further align my goals and dreams to myself, giving me purpose to continue striving for the skies. Strengths aren’t just labels, after all. They’re tools: tools to help us live our lives authentically and grow confidently.
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