Definitions:

Strengths: A strength is a pre-existing capacity for a particular way of behaving, thinking or feeling that is authentic, energising and enables optimal functioning, development and performance.

Pre-existing capacity:

• The strength already exists within us, whether to a greater or lesser extent
• Even if a strength is latent – it is still there within us
• We can learn by “adding in” new things from the outside, but we can’t just pick and choose to have the strengths that we would like at any one time
• There are already the pathways in our brain that represent the strength. These pathways might have been there when we were born, or we might have developed them as young children.  The key part about strengths being pre-existing capacities is that there is something in our biological or psychological make-up that predisposes us to have that particular strength.

Authentic Strengths:

• When people use their strengths, they feel like they are being the “real”, not the person that someone else wants them to be, but who they really are.
  
• Refers to being true to yourself and following your own directions and preferences in life, being honest with yourself and accepting yourself for who you are
• Enable people to be authentic because they are acting in a way that is right for them, something which is an integral part of human nature and a core influence on our well-being and fulfilment.
• Authentic strengths are identifiable across many different situations in the same people .

Energising Strengths:

• When people use their strengths, they feel as if they have more energy available to them. This does not mean that the strength can be used forever without rest. Recovery will be faster and burnout is less likely when using strengths.
  
• People using their strengths report having higher levels of vitality, a sense of energy and zest for life.
• Using strengths allows people to recharge as they are using them.

Optimal Functioning:

• Using strengths allows you to be at your best in terms of psychological functioning.  You feel more engaged, more alive, more vigourous, and more in flow.
  
• Strengths also allow optimal development.  We learn better in the areas where we are already strong. The neural networks – the brain wiring that underpins what we know and what we do – are already present for some strengths. It is easier for the brain to build on the pathways that it already has than it is to develop entirely new ones
• Optimal performance follows naturally from optimal functioning and development. When people are at their psychological peak of functioning, their most creative, energised, engaged and committed, when learning at their fastest and applying that learning and development to what they do, best performances follow.

The Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook identifies six classes of virtue (i.e. “core virtues”). They are made up of twenty-four measurable character strengths. Character strengths are defined as satisfying most of the ten following criteria.

1. fulfilling;
2. Intrinsically valuable, in an ethical sense
3. non-rivalrous;
4. not the opposite of a desirable trait (a counterexample is steadfast and flexible, which are opposites but are both commonly seen as desirable);
5. Trait-like (habitual patterns that are relatively stable over time);
6. not a combination of the other character strengths in the CSV;
7. personified (at least in the popular imagination) by people made famous through story, song, etc.;
8. observable in child prodigies (though this criterion is not applicable to all character strengths);
9. absent in some individuals;
10. and nurtured by societal norms and institutions.

Everyone has a characteristic set of strengths and virtues, that is, things that they are “good” or “strong” on. Research in Positive Psychology suggests that there are (at least) 24 strengths and virtues that are recognized in most cultures. These are organized as follows:

• Wisdom and Knowledge (strengths that involve the acquisition and use of knowledge)
  
• • Creativity
  • Curiosity
  • Open-mindedness
  • Love of Learning
  • Perspective and Wisdom: the coordination of “knowledge and experience” and “its deliberate use to improve wellbeing.”   Many, but not all, studies find that adults’ self-ratings of perspective/wisdom do not depend on age.  This stands in contrast to the popular notion that wisdom increases with age.
• Courage (strengths that allow one to accomplish goals in the face of opposition)
  • Bravery
  • Persistence
  • Integrity
  • Vitality
• Humanity (strengths of tending and befriending others)
  • Love
  • Kindness
  • Social Intelligence
• Justice (strengths that build healthy community)
  • Active Citizenship/ Social Responsibility / Loyalty /Teamwork
  • Fairness
  • Leadership
• Temperance (strengths that protect against excess)
  • Forgiveness and Mercy
  • Humility and Modesty
  • Prudence
  • Self-regulation and Self Control
• Transcendence (strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning)
  • Appreciation of Beauty and Appreciation of excellence
  • Gratitude
  • Hope
  • Humor and Playfulness
  • Spirituality