Strengths Paper

Strengths Paper
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Strengths Paper
After taking the VIA character test, my top five strengths were perseverance, bravery, honesty, judgment and love of learning. Perseverance implies that I have the ability to complete a task once I embark on it even when I face challenges. It equally means that I derive satisfaction from completing the job. Bravery means that I do not fear difficulties, threats, pain or challenges in my life. I speak my mind despite resistance from friends and family members. Honesty implies that I not only tell the truth, but I also carry myself in an authentic way. This includes being sincere in expressing emotions and owning up any mistake or action. Judgment refers to my ability to consider all possibilities before making a decision. I can also easily change my mind based on evidence. Lastly, love of learning refers to the desire to acquire new skills and knowledge. It involves the curiosity to discover and the habit of increasing the current stock of knowledge.
Luckily, I have been able to use most of the above strengths in my daily life except for a few. Throughout my college life, I have persevered to make it to the college soccer team. Being selected to the soccer team required me to wake up early in the morning to take part in fitness exercises. It also meant that I had to juggle between classes and training. Some of my friends dropped along the way, but I persisted with the training until the coach realized how determined I was to join the college team.

With the help of my coach I improved my skills and eventually got the coveted place in the team. I am also the vice president of the college human rights movement. This post requires me to speak against violation of human rights in the college and around the country. At times I have to oppose top government officials something which requires bravery. My friends also tell me that I am brave and I can see a sense of confidence in them whenever they are around me.
I also like to consult widely before making major decisions that impact my life and those of others. I go an extra mile to find evidence to support my decisions. For this reason, most of my peers trust in me to help them solve challenges in their lives. They believe that most of the time my judgment is right. I also try to remain rational and objective in every situation to improve on my judgment strength a view supported by Harzer & Ruch (2013). During my leisure time, I enjoy reading motivational and fictional books. This helps me relax and at the same time increase my knowledge about life. Once in a week I also like to venture into something new such as hiking a hill, visiting a new place and much more.
Unfortunately, I recently realized that I am not as honest as I ought to be. At times I fake my emotions so as not to hurt the feelings of my friends. As rightly argued by Bowers & Lopez (2010), not using my strengths regularly will make me unhappy in the long-run. Therefore, I have decided to be more authentic in the way I express my feelings. I will not use even white lies to get out of situations. Generally, I plan to use my strengths more by utilizing my skills and knowledge to lead a happy and fulfilling life.
References
Bowers, K. M., & Lopez, S. J. (2010). Capitalizing on personal strengths in college. Journal of College and Character, 11(1).
Harzer, C., & Ruch, W. (2013). The application of signature character strengths and positive experiences at work. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(3), 965-983.