When you are working with your character strengths and apply them with intention, everything you want to build becomes more possible.

At Your Best, You Are Already Stronger Than You Think

A friend once told me, “I’m tired of trying to fix myself. Everywhere I look, there’s something else I should be improving.” My friend wasn’t lazy. He wasn’t unmotivated. He had goals, talent, and a genuine desire to grow. But like many people, he spent far more time worrying about his weaknesses than noticing his strengths.

It’s a familiar trap:
We keep trying to patch what’s “wrong” instead of cultivating what’s already right.
We chase improvement while overlooking the very qualities that make us come alive.

But here’s a radical thought, one that positive psychology researchers have validated again and again: “The fastest path to flourishing is working with your character strengths.”

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Your strengths are not skills. They’re not achievements. And they’re not trophies. They are the inner qualities, the virtues, energies, instincts that already live inside you. And when you use them intentionally, even in small ways, your life begins to shift toward purpose, meaning, joy, and effectiveness. This is the heart of Excelerated Strengths™: discovering, exploring, and applying the best of who you are.

What Character Strengths Really Are

Character strengths are the positive, universally valued qualities that make you who you are at your best — things like Hope, Gratitude, Kindness, Curiosity, Love of Learning, Perseverance, Fairness, and Humor. These strengths sit beneath your personality. They are deeper than habits. They are different than achievements. They are expressions of your values and virtues.

The VIA Classification of Character Strengths, developed by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, identifies 24 strengths shared across cultures and traditions. Among these are your Signature Strengths, usually your top 5 or 6. These are the strengths that:

feel natural to you
energize you when you use them
show up consistently across your life
reflect your truest, most authentic self

If you’ve ever had a moment where someone said, “That is so YOU,” chances are, they were responding to one of your strengths in action.

Why Working With Your Character Strengths Matters

People often say, “Well, shouldn’t I focus on my weaknesses?” Focusing exclusively on weaknesses is like trying to grow a tree by examining everything wrong with the soil. Of course, the soil matters, but the tree grows upward through its strengths.

Here’s what research consistently shows. When you intentionally use your Signature Strengths, you experience:

higher life satisfaction
stronger relationships
more confidence
greater productivity
increased resilience
deeper meaning and joy

Strengths use doesn’t inflate you. Instead, it energizes you. It doesn’t ignore your limitations. It builds a foundation strong enough to face them. And think about this:

Your strengths help you express your Excelerated Life™, in motion, in service, and in purpose.

The 3 Key Steps to Working With Your Character Strengths

Step 1: Become Aware of Your Strengths

You can’t use what you don’t recognize. The first step is identifying your Signature Strengths, the ones that show up naturally in daily life.

Ways to increase awareness:

Take the VIA
Reflect on moments when you’ve been at your best
Ask trusted friends what strengths they see in you
Notice what energizes you versus what drains you
Examine your proudest moments for patterns

A Signature Strength “feels like you.” It feels natural, not forced. You might say:

“I’ve always been curious.”
“I naturally encourage others.”
“I love learning new things.”
“I try to see things from a bigger perspective.”

Reflection questions:

When have I felt truly alive?
What strengths was I using in that moment?
Which strengths show up across my life story?

Your strengths aren’t random. They are the raw material of your purpose.

Step 2: Explore Your Strengths

Once you know your strengths, you begin to explore them, looking at where they show up, how they influence your choices, and how they connect to your values.

Exploration includes:

Spotting strengths in daily routines.
When you listen deeply to a friend, that’s Love.
When you experiment with a new recipe, that’s Creativity.
When you pause before reacting, that’s Self-Regulation.
Noticing energy.
Signature Strengths give energy rather than drain it.
Understanding overuse and underuse.
Overuse example: Honesty delivered without kindness.
Underuse example: Kindness toward everyone except yourself.
Exploring strengths in different domains:
Work
Family
Health
Spiritual life
Relationships
Service

Exploring your strengths is like tuning an instrument. You begin to understand how your unique qualities blend to create the music of your life.

Step 3: Apply Your Strengths

This is where Excelerated Strengths™ comes alive. Knowing your strengths is useful. Using them intentionally is transformational.

Applying your strengths means:

Leveraging them to solve problems
Using them to take action on goals
Strengthening relationships
Shifting your emotional state
Creating meaningful habits
Supporting personal growth

Here are micro-applications of strengths, simple, doable, powerful:

If Gratitude is a Signature Strength:
Write one thank-you note per week.
If Love of Learning is a Signature Strength:
Read one page of a meaningful book daily.
If Kindness is a Signature Strength:
Choose one intentional act of kindness each morning.
If Perseverance is a Signature Strength:
Use tiny habits to create unstoppable momentum.
If Perspective is a Signature Strength:
When facing conflict, pause and ask, “What’s the bigger picture here?”
If Hope is a Signature Strength:
Visualize one positive outcome each evening.

When you deliberately apply your strengths, you stop trying to “improve yourself” and start expressing your best self.

[Photo by Kampus Production]

Working With Strengths: Navigating Challenges

Every strength has a shadow side.

Overuse

A strength used too intensely or at the wrong moment becomes a liability.
Examples:

Honesty without tact
Bravery without caution
Perseverance without rest
Humor used to deflect instead of connect

Underuse

A strength you ignore becomes a source of frustration.
Examples:

Creativity left unused becomes boredom
Social Intelligence unused becomes isolation
Leadership unexpressed becomes restlessness

Misuse

A strength applied to the wrong situation:

Kindness used to avoid conflict
Curiosity used to procrastinate
Judgment used to criticize rather than discern

Strengths aren’t meant to be “on” all the time; they are meant to be used wisely. Working with your character strengths trains you to apply the right strength at the right moment, in the right way.

The Benefits of Working With Your Character Strengths

When you begin living from your strengths, things shift:

You feel more authentic.
Strengths use creates a sense of alignment: “Yes, this is who I am.”
You flourish more consistently.
Strengths are the foundation of well-being, meaning, and joy.
You build resilience.
In hard times, strengths become emotional tools.
You deepen relationships.
Seeing and naming strengths in others is transformative.
You achieve goals more effectively.
Strengths support Excelerated Goal Setting™ and Excelerated Movement™ by giving energy to your intentions.
You grow spiritually.
Strengths illuminate your purpose and allow you to serve from a place of wholeness.

In short: Your strengths don’t just help you succeed. They help you become who you were created to be.

Putting Ideas Into Action: Your Strengths Plan

Here’s how to practice Excelerated Strengths™ this week.

Daily Strengths Practice

Choose one Signature Strength each morning.
Decide on one intentional way to use it today.
Reflect in the evening: “How did I use this strength?”

Weekly Strengths Ritual

Pick one situation where you feel stuck.
Ask: “Which strength could help me move forward here?”
Apply it in one small, concrete way.

Strengths-Based Goal Setting

Choose a BIG (Bold-Important-Gratifying) goal.
Match each Signature Strength with a step that supports the goal.
Build your plan around energy, not effort.

Strengths Spotlight

Notice a strength in someone else.
Tell them.
This builds connection and sharpens your own strength awareness.

Examples of Strengths in Action

Example 1: Gratitude in a Stressful Week

A busy parent begins each morning with a 30-second gratitude practice. By the end of the week, their stress hasn’t disappeared, but their lens has changed.

Example 2: Perseverance Toward a Fitness Goal

Someone who feels overwhelmed by the idea of exercise decides to walk for just 3 minutes each day. The tiny step builds consistency. Consistency builds momentum. Momentum builds success.

Example 3: Kindness and a Strained Relationship

A gentle gesture, offered daily, begins to soften a long-held tension. Kindness doesn’t fix everything, but it opens the door.

Example 4: Perspective at Work

During a conflict with a coworker, someone uses their strength of Perspective to step back, look at the bigger picture, and choose a calmer, wiser response.

Your Call to Action

This week, take one simple step:

Identify your top 5–7 Signature Strengths.
Choose one strength to use intentionally each day for the next three days.
End each day with the question:
“Where did I use this strength today? And what changed because of it?”

The Heart of Excelerated Strengths™

Working with your character strengths doesn’t change who you are — it reveals who you’ve always had the capacity to become.

Your strengths are not accidents.
They are clues.
They are gifts.
And they are the tools you were given to live your Excelerated Life™ — full of purpose, contribution, and joy.

When you discover your strengths, explore them, and apply them intentionally, everything you want to build becomes more achievable. It’s another step on the path to embracing your Excelerated Life™!

Which Signature Strength are you most excited to work with this week — and how will you use it?
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Excelerated Strengths™ — discovering and using your Signature Strengths — is one practice for creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.

Resources:

Grenville-Cleave, Bridget. Positive Psychology: A Practical Guide. New York: MJF Books. 2012.

Niemiec, PhD., Ryan and Robert E McGrath, PhD. The Power of Character Strengths: Appreciate and Ignite Your Positive Personality. Cincinnati, Ohio: VIA Institute on Character, 2019.

Polly, Shannon and Kathryn Britton. Character Strengths Matter: How To Live A Full Life. Positive Psychology News, LLC, 2015.

Seligman, Ph.D., Martin E. P. Flourish. New York: Free Press, 2011.

This blog post includes research information and suggestions provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. The content was generated with AI assistance and is intended to provide information and guidance. Please note that the suggestions are not official statements from OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.