Spotlight on Creativity
💡 Definition of the Character Strength of Creativity: ”Thinking of novel and productive ways to conceptualize and do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it.” (From the VIA Institute on Character)
Grow Your Strengths
-
-
Spotlight on Love of Learning
💡 Definition of the Character Strength Love of Learning: ”Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally; related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows.” (From the VIA Institute on Character)
-
Spotlight on Judgment
💡 Definition of the Character Strength of Judgment: ”Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one’s mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly.” (From the VIA Institute on Character)
-
Spotlight on Curiosity
💡 Definition of the Character Strength of Curiosity: ”Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering.” (From the VIA Institute on Character) Overuse & Balancing Strengths:
-
Use Your Character Strengths to Feel Better
My head feels like a ball of raw meat, aching from a beating, oozing blood from my ears. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but my brain feels like an open wound. Hyperacusis can be…unpleasant. I haven’t had a high sensory pain day like this for months. There is no convenient day to…
-
What is Competitive Selection?
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Life is never just one thing. Take today for example. I slept in, fixed a fancy homemade coconut latte, and sat down to work in my fuzzy clean slippers. (The Good) The sleep in was sponsored by a persistent ringing in my left ear, and a growing wave…
-
Deliberate Sanity – Life in Low Gear
Today it took me a good hour to make a snack. I didn’t get distracted with texting friends, or pause mid-prep to dance to music. A few years back, that would be the only reason a 20 minute activity would have tripled in duration. But today the work was silent, methodical, deliberate. No attempt to…
-
Dangerous Reflection (Growth Traps)
Reflection is essential to growth. If we don’t think into our lives, experiences, relationships, choices, and results, we’ll be at the mercy of chaos and entropy. Reflection is the fulcrum for seizing opportunity and influencing the path of our own lives. But there’s a sneaky, counterfeit form of reflection that can kill growth. It’s on my…
-
Self-Dismissive Labeling (Growth Traps)
Sneaky Growth Traps This month I want to cover some of the growth traps that munch us. They’re habits, behaviors, and mindsets that sneak into our lives, and limit or prevent growth. They do this while giving us a false sense of permission, safety, stability, or truth. They’re tricky like that. One Growth Trap that gives a…
-
Living Gamefully
One of my best allies lately in my own personal growth journey has been Dr. Jane McGonigal. I was 34 when I suddenly acquired a sensory disorder. Something changed in my brain, and I have battled crippling auditory issues for what seems like no reason. In the 18 months since, I’ve had my brain scanned…
