Your Strengths

"Watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” - Frank Outlaw

Fundamental Chromatic helps clients acknowledge that you can know, understand, and even utilize your personal strengths and your inner gifts that make you who you are and are meant to be utilized as a compassionate tool to shape the world around you and beyond - so that everyone has opportunities for growth, change, and making our own impacts and differences to compels hope that leads to survival; that leads to abilities to cope and even prosper. Clients can begin to focus on their strengths instead of weaknesses and challenges. You can start and keep seeing how these "inner gifts" can help you tackle not only your own challenges, but lead and inspire to help resolve the struggles of those around you as well. You can indeed shine and distillate so that the good positive features you earn, can be put out back into the world and be rained down onto peers, neighbors, and even co-habitant leaders of the community. This happens through systemic difference and positive change that you will have worked so dedicatedly to earn and develop; as well as work diligently to maintain and inspire growth successfully inwards and outwards. We share here some of knowledge of character strengths that the founder has learned via her education with Aims Community College, and also share the resources her instructors induced for students to acquire and earn knowledge. Aims CC does this so that their students can grow and help the people around us create better circumstances for ourselves; all of us can be more, do greater, and become healthier and more well. Aims says that these traits "can be real game changers in academic achievement, success and happiness no matter what your circumstances are" (Aims Community College). 

1. Hope (Optimism) - The character strength of hope or optimism is in part: positive aspirations about what lies ahead. It involves optimistic and positive thinking and focusing on good things that we can achieve and help accomplish; sometimes even on our own or with 1 person helping guide us on the right path. Because hope instills the power to achieve the unthinkable, and helps us reach new strengths and heights.  

2. Gratitude - Gratitude is more than a fleeting feeling—it’s the steady practice of noticing life’s gifts and honoring them. It is choosing to recognize the people, moments, and blessings that shape us, and giving thanks not only in words, but in the way we live and act. 

3. Social Intelligence - Social intelligence is the awareness of what moves others—the ability to sense their needs, emotions, and perspectives, and to respond with understanding that builds trust and connection. 

4. Curiosity - Curiosity is the spark that drives us to ask questions and seek answers. It is the joy of exploring new paths, discovering hidden truths, and engaging with life simply for the wonder it brings. 

5. Self Regulation (Self Control)- Self-regulation is the steady art of guiding ourselves. It means choosing balance over impulse, managing emotions with wisdom, and directing our actions toward what truly matters. 

6. Zest (Enthusiasm) - To live with zest is to greet each moment as a fresh adventure. It is pouring energy and spirit into what you do, refusing to move through life half-awake. Zest is contagious energy. It inspires others when we approach tasks with eagerness, show up fully present, and embrace opportunities with passion.

7. Perseverance (Grit)- Perseverance is sticking with things. It means being hardworking and finishing what is started, despite barriers and obstacles that arise.  

Read the sections of the “340 Ways to Use Character Strengths” by Tayyab Rashid about your top five strengths and write down three new ways you can use each of those five strengths.

Additional Resources 

You can find the Article "340 Ways to Use Character Strengths" by Tayyab Rashid here: 340 Ways You May Utilize Your Strengths (Source: Arty's College 101 Guide. Aims Community College - Greeley).

1. “What’s been going well for you lately? In what ways have you made a positive difference in your own life?” 

2. “What do you feel is the best part of who you are?” 

3. “What are the strongest qualities you bring as a person, and how might you expand on them to keep growing; To become your best self?”

4. “What excites or interests you most throughout the day? How might you use your strengths to deepen your involvement in your work and with others?” 

🌱 What is the Strength-Based Approach?

The strength-based approach is a perspective and method that emphasizes identifying, celebrating, and building on a person’s strengths, talents, skills, and resources—rather than focusing mainly on their deficits, problems, or limitations. It doesn’t ignore challenges, but it reframes them by asking: “What strengths can we use to move forward?”

This approach is rooted in the belief that every individual already has internal resources and capabilities that can help them thrive. By recognizing and nurturing these, people build confidence, resilience, and motivation to reach their goals.

🔑 Core Principles

1. Everyone has strengths – no matter their situation.

2. Strengths foster growth – people grow best when they build on what they already do well.

3. Collaboration – it works best when people are partners in identifying and using their strengths.

4. Positive framing – instead of asking “what’s wrong,” ask “what’s strong.”

5. Empowerment – when people use their strengths, they feel more in control of their lives.

Dysfunctional and maladaptive thoughts, feelings, actions, emotions, and/or lack or depletion of actions/energy; accompanied by distress/high levels of stress and disruption in daily essential functions of living. Including interferences with learning, education, employment, relationships, health care, nutrition, exercise and stretching, happiness, hopefulness, taking initiative, wakefulness, doing kind things for others, and much more. Interfere with daily life and are therefore disfunctions, disabling, disorder related, not like most people. 

Individual characteristics and Environmental influences and stressors make up a person and can result in disorders and dysfunctions or if positive in nature completely can result in not having this result, called the Vulnerability - Stress Model. Epigenetics Research is a research category where the Vulnerability - Stress Model is studied and researched by professionals, psychologists, and other interested and equity-active people. 

Go outside, or even inside.. set a goal to go on a daily walk for 15 to 30 minutes or more. If you already walk in an adequate manner, then try adding in stretches of every body part. If you have a goal like to learn to do the splits, or to out-run someone you know, or to do really well in a Walk or Run a thon, start practicing... little by little build up stamina and strength, speed, endurance. 

This will help us in our need to build resilience when setting goals, practice how to set goals, and practice reaching and exceeding our goals. Even small goals matter. 

For instance, try setting a goal to carry a full water bottle around with you from now on. Make sure to drink the water often enough to feel more energy, not have a dry mouth or feel thirsty, to replenish lost sweat, and to have less pain to name a few benefits of drinking water in a healthy way.