Recently I was visiting an elderly woman who was sharing with me that she had just received her flu shot. We both remarked how quickly time flies…to already be thinking of flu shots. Isn’t it hard to grasp, unless you are in the medical field, that with the flu shot, we are actually receiving the virus itself? Our antibodies rush to the scene to overcome the virus and we develop an immunity.
And yet…so in life – isn’t it? It seems like a paradox that taking in what could make us sick can actually strengthen our resistance. Chaos in our life has the capacity to bring us peace. Unhappiness has the capacity to bring us to contentment. Difficult news has the capacity to strengthen us in hope. That which we see as the ills of life can instead bring us to a place of well being.
Just as biologically our bodies are full of antibodies standing ready to go up against any viruses, bacteria, or germs around us, so too our character strengths serve as antibodies to come against the trials of life. Be it creativity, curiosity, judgment (critical thinking), love of learning, perspective, bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest, love, kindness, social intelligence, teamwork, fairness, leadership, forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, or spirituality – we are all wired with a unique blend of these 24 character strengths. Understanding the 10 dominant strengths operating in you, is an actionable step towards living authentically and activating your own one of a kind antibodies to combat those ills of life!
Not sure what your unique blend of character strengths are? Go to www.viacharacter.org and take the free character strength survey to learn how you can keep healthy through the cold and flu seasons of life.
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou
