As part of the PERMA model
we are discussing I would like to expand on the last letter
A:
A -
Achievement
We have come to the last element of
our PERMA model, and that is achievement. According to the
Corporate Finance Institute (
PERMA Model - Overview, Core Elements and Workplace Application
(corporatefinanceinstitute.com) - 8 March 2022), we all take
pride in something we've finished or accomplished that strengthens
our self-esteem and our confidence that we are worth something.
When we achieve something, we feel good and want to do more and
become more. In other words, it is not that you must be the best in
something, receive the gold medal, or be the top achiever. But you
need to have goals, aspire to learn something new, stretch
yourself, and surprise yourself. It is not achieving the goal, but
working toward the goal that gives us a sense of well-being and
happiness. Therefore, have goals you can work toward in your work,
in relationships, in exercising, in your eating plan, and so forth.
Give yourself something to aspire to; we all need those goals in
life, for it greatly aids in living a flourishing life. Otherwise,
life will be very dull and flat with nothing to look forward
to.
In order to add a little color to
your life, you can also work toward mastering something. Whether it
is a new language, cooking skills, painting, playing an instrument,
dancing, exercising, photography, etc., it will add some flavor to
your life. Working at mastering something really builds self-esteem
and helps your confidence. Even if you just achieve 1 percent of
improvement a week, you can be quite good before two years have
passed. Just do not give up. It will be worth the effort.
Part of achievement is also knowing
what your strengths in life are and working with it. The strengths
need to be essentially who you are, and they must be effortless and
energizing to you. Once you have identified your strengths, then
find opportunities to use them. Ask yourself, "How can I focus on
my specific strength? How do I use it to bring about a positive
emotion? How can I use it to be fully engaged and in the moment?"
Zoom in on that and use it.
Recognize and manage your
weaknesses, but don't spend too much time on them. Rather, focus on
your strengths. It really makes you happy to focus on and use your
strengths! Your strengths energize you! In a team situation, use
your strengths; go for that. Don't just do what people think would
be best in a situation, rather do what you are good at. Decide to
see and appreciate the beauty instead of the negative and ugly.
So how do you know what your
strengths are? There are many tools you can use. One that I often
hear from fellow Christians is called Strengths Finder, and they
found it very valuable. You can search it and have a look at it.
One that I quite like (and the test is for free) is one from the
Institute on Character. You can take the survey for free, and they
will list the twenty-four strengths from your strongest to your
weakest. It was truly spot-on for me and my clients, and it is very
interesting when you explore these strengths a bit deeper. The link
to the VIA survey is:
https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register
Here are the twenty-four strengths
divided in their six categories:
- Wisdom and Knowledge-Love of Learning, Perspective, Judgment,
Creativity, Curiosity
- Humanity-Love, Kindness, Social intelligence
- Justice-Teamwork, Leadership, Fairness
- Temperance-Humility, Prudence, Forgiveness,
Self-Regulation
- Transcendence-Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence,
Spirituality, Gratitude, Humor, Hope
- Courage-Zest, Bravery, Honesty, Perseverance
Which do you think are your top
strengths? Of course as Christians, we have within us all of these,
and some are really beneficial to us. For example, we need to
forgive people because the bitterness of holding on to the hurt is
detrimental to our spiritual growth. All of us as Christians have
spirituality as a root, and all of us love God and are expected to
love our neighbors. All of us need to be grateful and have hope.
Yes, this is all true. But these are inherit strengths within you
that require no effort on your part. It is so easy for you to
portray these strengths you do not even think about it; it is
effortless and you can excel in them. For example I know I must
forgive people and with God's grace and a lot of prayer I do, but
my son's strength is forgiveness, for him it is so easy, he doesn't
even think twice about it. Someone might hurt him today and
tomorrow he will forget all about it and move on as normal treating
that person the same as the rest. It is truly effortless for
him.
Find out what your top five
strengths are. Use any tool you deem appropriate. Then have a look
at these strengths. For instance, if your strength is kindness,
then ask yourself the following questions:
- What does kindness think
like?
- What does kindness feel
like?
- How does kindness act?
- How can I use kindness in my
relationships, in my team, on holiday, when I lead, alone at home,
etc.?
Ask yourself these questions over
all your strengths, and decide how you are going to use them. Using
your signature strengths on a daily basis energizes you and helps
you to lead a flourishing life. No matter what your current
occupation is, you can use your strengths right there where you
are. Who knows, maybe your strengths will lead you onto a new path
in the process of using them.
(Excerpt from
Flourishing: God's Way by Ilze Henderson)