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Strengths that help you connect outside yourself.
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
Gratitude
Hope
Humour
Spirituality/Purpose
Hope
'Being optimistic and having confidence something can be done to create a brighter future.'
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all.”
EMILY DICKINSON
The character strength of hope has to do with positive expectations about the future. It involves optimistic thinking and focusing on good things to come. Hope is more than a feel-good emotion. It is an action-oriented strength involving agency, the motivation and confidence that goals can be reached, and also that many effective pathways can be devised in order to get to that desired future. Optimism is closely linked with having a particular explanatory style (how we explain the causes of bad events). People using an optimistic explanatory style interpret events as external, unstable and specific. Those using a pessimistic explanatory style interpret events as internal, stable and global.
Suggested Hope Activities
Read a hopeful story book, or watch a Youtube video of someone else reading one.
Share excitement with people in your life about things you are looking forward to.
Draw a picture of what hope feels like.
Write a list of things they feel hopeful for, and identify ways they might achieve these things.
Write down something challenging, and some hopeful things about the situation.
Identify a previous challenge and how you overcame it.
Identify the use of hope and optimism around you.
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
'Experiencing a sense of wonder when you see beauty and excellence in the world.'
“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and adore.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Those who express an appreciation of beauty & excellence notice and appreciate beauty, excellence and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.
People high in Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence are responsive to these three types of goodness:
PHYSICAL BEAUTY - This may include auditory, tactile or abstract. This type of goodness produces awe and wonder in the person experiencing it.
SKILL OR TALENT (EXCELLENCE)- This is often energizing, and compels a person to pursue their own goals. It inspires admiration.
VIRTUE OR MORAL GOODNESS (MORAL BEAUTY) - Virtuous goodness makes someone want to be better, more loving and creates feelings of elevation.
Suggested Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence Activities
Recognise awe and wonder in young people – how can you help to prioritise these activities?
Complete a scavenger hunt in nature. Older kids could get involved in creating it for younger ones.
With teenagers, ask them to identify where they feel awe and wonder. Focus especially on the things they can do to bring this to life, rather than passively observing excellence in others.
Create a photo board of images which spark wonder for you.
Put together a ‘pump it’ playlist of songs that get you dancing every time you hear them.
Get in nature! Go for a walk, check out a view, explore somewhere new. Spend time journaling, sketching, or just being still and observing.
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