Chapter 1

Strengths and Values

Every person has their own unique strengths and abilities and using these are helpful to set your goals. Choosing to look at your strengths is much more powerful and motivating, than focusing on shortcomings and past mistakes.

This will help you feel more hopeful about the future.

The first activity in our Online Wellness Toolkit aims to help you recognise your own unique strengths.

Worksheet 1: Finding your Unique Strengths & Qualities

This can be difficult, but there are some key questions you can ask yourself to help you identify your strengths and skills:

What do you like and/or value about yourself? 

What are some of your achievements?

How might someone who cares about you describe you?

What gives you energy?

You are resilient. What do you think helps you bounce back?

How have you faced/overcome the challenges you have had?

How have you been able to meet your needs?

Worksheet 2: Identifying your Core Values

Understanding your values is also important when setting goals for what you want from your life.

Values are beliefs that guide or motivate your decisions, priorities, and behaviours.

Examples of values held by some people are honesty, health, and creativity.

Equally important when identifying your values, is recognising when your actions are out of alignment and your ability to get yourself back on track.

Finding your Strength from day to day

We all have our own strengths and concepts of strengths, like a signature.

Once you have begun to discovery your own unique strengths, why not try to find a new way to use one or two of them?

Some people believe you can live a more positive life by applying your strengths to day to day activities. Cultivating and using your strengths to overcome challenges can help you build your confidence, which in turn, can leave you feeling good about yourself. This may also give you the confidence to tackle bigger issues and problems when they pop up in your life. 

Spending time understanding your strengths can also help you recognise the strengths in others. As you recognise these strengths, you may find you will gravitate towards those with similar values to yourself.