The Power of Your Personal Strengths

In our challenging world today, too many of us are languishing. Across the country and around the world, there are alarming rates of anxiety, loneliness, and depression (Murthy, 2023; World Health Organization, 2024). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, and unsettling changes in our lives, many of us are feeling hopeless, helpless, and disconnected from a deeper sense of ourselves.

Centuries ago, in the wake of the bubonic plague pandemic, people began believing in themselves and their strengths, which led to the unprecedented creative flourishing of the Renaissance. For centuries, during the Middle Ages, theologians had taught that while most people merely worked to survive, only priests, monks, and nuns had a divine calling to live formal religious lives.

Then Reformation theologians began teaching that everyone had a calling, possessing personal God-given strengths. They maintained that it was the duty of every person to discover and use these strengths to fulfill their destinies, serve God, and contribute to their communities (Luther, 1535/1963, Calvin, 1536/1960).

In what was later known as the “self-fulfilling prophecy” (Rosenthal, & Jacobson, 1968; Rosenthal, 1994), when people believed they had been given these personal strengths, they began to discover and use them. This led to a new belief in their potential and unprecedented contributions to science, culture, religion, politics, and the arts.

William Shakespeare

Source: Shakespeare portrait, public domain

Transcending the class system, Leonardo da Vinci, Desiderius Erasmus, Galileo Galilei, St. Teresa of Avila, and others become artists, writers, scientists, saints, and leaders in their fields. In one memorable example, a poor boy in the English countryside, whose parents could only sign their names with an X, brought his strengths to the London stage as William Shakespeare (Dreher, 2012).

My research has convinced me that we can bring new joy, meaning, and creative possibility to our lives by discovering and using our personal strengths and that it is never too late to become more creatively and authentically ourselves (Dreher, 2008). Studies in positive psychology have validated this Renaissance belief with research showing that using our personal strengths can make us healthier, happier, and more successful (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). And, we can begin living more creatively at any age or stage of life (Worth, 2010).

Discovering Your Own Strengths

What are your personal strengths and how can you begin using them more often? Here are three ways you can begin discovering them:

1. Remember what you loved to do as a child. I enjoyed playing games outdoors and exploring with my friends, gardening, painting, arts and crafts, and playing the piano. Ask yourself, “What did I love to do?” Then look for the strengths your young self was demonstrating. What were your strengths—Love of nature? Relating to others? Playing on a team? Following your curiosity? Art? Music? Or something else?
2. Recall a time in your adult life when you felt filled with joy, energy, and vitality. What were you doing—Engaging in a sport? Working with a partner? Creating art or music? Solving a problem at work? Feeling a sense of awe in nature? Or something else? (Dreher, 2008)
3. Positive psychology research has identified twenty-four character strengths common to all humanity: creativity, curiosity, open mindedness, love of learning, perspective, bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, love, kindness, social intelligence, citizenship, fairness, leadership, forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality (Peterson, & Seligman, 2004). The researchers found that each of us has five top strengths, or “signature strengths,” and that using them can bring greater joy to our lives, help us flourish and begin living more creatively (Seligman et al, 2005).

In today’s challenging world, you can bring greater joy and meaning to your life by discovering and using your personal strengths. And if enough of us use our strengths, we, too, may create a new Renaissance for our time.

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This post is for informational purposes and should not substitute for psychotherapy with a qualified professional.

© 2024 Diane Dreher, All Rights Reserved.