Here’s Why
I am a huge fan of the VIA Institute on Character Strengths Survey. If you have not taken it, I highly recommend you do. This assessment measures 24 of your strengths you use in all areas of your life and not work only, hence why I am so in love with this survey. This survey is a tool for creating harmony in your life.
The assessment is free, and they will ask you to create an account. You can get the free report of your responses or pay for a more detailed one.
The last time I took the assessment was in February 2020. I will take it again because my mentality has shifted from that timeframe. As of February 2020 my top five to seven (also known as your signature strengths) are:
Curiosity
Love of Learning
Gratitude
Creativity
Hope
ZestHope
Perspective
The beautiful part about this survey is we use all 24 of the strengths, so don’t feel bad if one of your strengths is not where you thought it should be. If one is in the lower half of the 24, it means you don’t use it as much, which is something you can change.
Character strengths are a part of Positive Psychology, which I am a huge fan of and conducting research.
As you can see one of my character strengths is Hope.
Hope is “expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about,”–VIA Institute on Character
I want to delve into “Hope” to give you tips to increase your ability to hope.
Andwer
Answer these questions:
What are you hoping for?
What are you expecting?
One of the most impactful feelings you’ll ever experience is hope. Hope occurs when we center our expectations on something.
Your hope is like a wish for something to happen. And there’s power in those wishes.
Consider these points to increase your power with hope:
Hope plants a seed. Whenever you yearn for something, having hope is an implication that it could occur. Your life’s journey can be enhanced by having hope. What seeds of hope are you planting?
To feel hopeful, it requires honesty. Be honest with yourself about what you want, and NOT what you don’t want. We all have challenges to get through. To have hope, we’re forced to be honest about what we’ve done to contribute to the challenge. Only if you tell yourself the truth about a trying situation, can you proceed and experience hope.
Hope produces a “can do” spirit. For example, if you want a better life, you can draw upon the hope within you. That desire to seek a better life for yourself will deepen, and the more you will want to create that life for yourself. Hope cultivates a personal sense of responsibility and ownership. Only then do you have the power to convince yourself that you can truly affect a change in your own life.
Hope often leads you to the answer you want. When you’re clueless about how to resolve a difficult issue, you “resort” to hoping the issue will be solved somehow. Your thoughts begin to “noodle” (my world for thinking) through all the ins and outs of figuring out the challenge. Before you know it, you’ve hit on something that might help the situation. Having hope helps you to think.
Hope cultivates your imagination. Creativity and imagination are necessary when you’re hoping for something to grow or change positively. You stretch yourself by considering resolutions you hadn’t considered before. Having hope allows you to daydream about what isn’t present yet, and we all know daydreaming is fun.
Hope enhances your personal commitment. When you’ve thought enough about a challenge, you’re likely committed to overcoming that challenge. You and only you know when you are ready for a change. Personal commitment sets you up to sharpen your focus and create the result you desire.
Hope springs from within. The purest form of strength and power in your life emerges solely from within you. Only your thoughts and desires are needed. Hope is free to use you so tap into it. Isn’t that great? It doesn’t cost you anything to have hope.
Hope allows you to accept and forgive others. Many times, the path you seek can only be paved by your complete acceptance of others and your ability to forgive them. This is something I have had to learn. Unfortunately, you will be hurt by the actions and words of others at some point or another. However, having hope encourages us to move past these positions of powerlessness and discover the true strength of our character.
Possessing hope enables you to perform challenging acts and believe the unbelievable. The good life you deserve can be attained by striving to have hope. Let go of your self-doubt and negativity.
Discover your power by embracing all the rewards hope can deliver.
Having hope is free, so why not have it?
Thank you for reading!
