"Hi, I’m Joslyn Chulski, I work in Legal at Dow with responsibility for Learning, Development, and Knowledge Management and a member of Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition. I'm excited to share with you my Life Hack In Action # 56 Name your strengths. I have been practicing using and naming my strengths for quite some time. My interest started when I heard Gary Vaynerchuk say, “Why would you focus on your weaknesses when they don’t bring you joy?” Then, my interest in character strengths increased when I pursued the certificate in applied positive psychology and learned the VA character strengths assessment. There are times in our lives when we are required to do a task that is not something we are good at or even interested in, yet we find a way to overcome and prevail. What is beautiful about character strengths is they help you to identify what is at your core and how you approach life. So it's not just about what you are or aren't good at, it's how you can tackle those tasks in a way that's authentic and true to you. Since our lives change and priorities can shift, it can be really helpful and interesting to take the assessment annually. I first took it in 2020 when the world was a really different place than when I took it again this year. My strengths had shifted in their order between the two times I took the assessment due to my life (and the world) has changed. So why do strengths matter for wellbeing? Focusing on your strengths is another way to focus on positive things instead of focusing on negative through focusing on our weaknesses. Knowing your strengths can really make a difference in how you approach your work, your relationships, and really again, those tasks shared with some colleagues. I just really love this concept of honing in on your strengths. So I encourage you to take the VA character strengths assessment, identify your strengths, and see how they can guide you through life's tasks.
