Over the past year we’ve all experienced new challenges to our well-being and it’s been a time when you might have re-discovered, as I have, what the wisdom of the ages has long taught—that adversity, while not sought, can be a time when we discover new inner strength.
Having a mindset where we understand and draw on our natural strengths can help us find resilience, even amidst great difficulty. This strengths-based approach was popularized in the early 2000s. Don Clifton, named the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology by the American Psychological Association, first began his research more than 60 years ago when he famously asked this question:
In the context of older adults and those needing long-term care, this question is particularly relevant. People who require assistance completing daily activities are already well aware of what’s wrong with them. Focusing on what is right with them is a wonderful way to not only encourage them but also improve their overall well-being.
Strengths Assessments
Over the last 20 years, two popular strengths assessments have been completed more than 40 million times, collectively.
- The CliftonStrengths assessment identifies your unique ranking of 34 natural talents (Clifton & Buckingham, 2001). [There is a cost to take this assessment.]
- The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) assessment measures your values of 24 character strengths (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005). [This assessment is free.]
Research using these assessments has led to a deeper understanding of personalities and how each of us contributes to communities. When we understand our strengths—and focus on them—this can change how we think about adversity and, therefore, how we respond to it. A strengths-based approach results in a life of greater meaning, peace, hope, and happiness.
My Strengths-Based Resilience
At the start of the pandemic I moved miles away from what had been my family home, to live near my son and his family so we could mutually care for each other in our little “pod.” This last year, focusing on my strengths has been essential to my well-being. I often found myself asking, “How can I pull out what’s naturally strong inside me, to provide the resilience I need for today?”
ALICEhelps has a process embedded to help you focus on your strengths and communicate these to your family, friends, caregivers, and healthcare teams within a private, invitation only, community. We recognize that strengths-based caregiving isn’t just nice-to-have, but an essential component of caregiving to improve well-being. How encouraging it is to know we all have meaningful, natural talents we bring to our daily living! And how helpful it is to be able to securely communicate these to our caregivers, so they can draw on them as well.
Join the waitlist to be among the first to access ALICEhelps when it launches.