By Armin Forstner
From time to time, I check in with myself and complete the VIA survey of character strengths to see if there have been any changes in my own signature strengths profile. The VIA Survey is a free self-assessment based on positive psychology principles that provides a wealth of information to help you understand your best qualities. Interestingly, ‘Hope” replaced ‘Social Intelligence’ as one of my signature strengths this time round.
This made me reflect on what that means for me. On VIA, Hope is described as “I am realistic and also full of optimism about the future, believing in my actions and feeling confident things will turn out well.” That actually happens to be largely true for the situation I found myself in this past year. My partner suffered and is still suffering from burnout; I was worried about family and friends during the pandemic; and business has been tough for many months now. Despite these challenges, I remained optimistic about my partner’s recovery, the health of my family and the opportunities that will arise for the business. Today, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for all of these dimensions, and I am sending all of you my positive energy and hope for the future.
Try the VIA survey for yourself here: https://www.viacharacter.org
