"Authentic Happiness"

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I read an NYT article recently about positive psychology. It referred me to authentichappiness.org, the website of Martin Seligman, head of the American Psychological Association. I've read some of Seligman's stuff. I did a directed reading on Adolescence and found that most articles (particularly in psychology) focused on depression and other negative things. My professor directed me to the small subset of psychologists that choose to focus on the good stuff (and they catch some flack for it). To be honest, the positive stuff is more boring to read than the negative stuff, but I do in general believe in positive psychology and that thinking good thoughts and enjoying what you do has a profound effect not only on your psychological health, but also on your physical health.

So onto the Authentic Happiness website... It's basically a bunch of quizzes (or that's the part I skipped to anyway). I did the 240-question VIA Signature Strengths quiz and these were my results:

Your Top Strength

Capacity to love and be loved You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Your Second Strength

Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.

Your Third Strength

Bravery and valor You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Your Fourth Strength

Humor and playfulness You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

Your Fifth Strength

Industry, diligence, and perseverance You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project, you "get it out the door" in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks. I found these results extremely interesting, mostly because in about 20 minutes, they told me things that it's taken me years to figure out. I don't know that it's spot-on, but the fact that #1 is about love kind of threw me. Recently someone asked me what I wanted from life and I said, "to be happy, to be with someone that I love and loves me." And that was it. Nothing about any other aspect of my life. That was the only thing I was totally sure about. I would never think of myself as a particularly loving person, but perhaps that's the me that's always been there, hidden under my #5 strength, industry and perseverance (also interesting is that this made the list, but as #5). So maybe on the outside I'm #5 and on the inside I'm #1. I'm trying to figure out what my point is here with this post. I guess mainly that I was really (pleasantly) surprised to get these results and that this appears to be one of the more "accurate" online tests I've taken lately (and I've taken a lot). This one seems to get at your gut, whereas the others are more superficial.* So take some of these quizzes: they're free, eye-opening, and the site saves your results. *Test results vary a lot depending on your mindset when you're taking them. My previous mindset may have skewed results of other online personality quizzes I've taken lately.