6 Comments

Great post Scott, I'd love to build off of this with you. I'd love to discuss what I've come to call "Unshakable Purpose" or the sense of lasting purpose that's discovered from all sorts of embodied practices that seem to all point to the same thing the research found. I'm currently getting my maters in Somatic Psychology to get expand on this. My sense is positive psychology is doing the top down work of what somatic psychology is doing from bottom up.

Expand full comment

Thanks for sharing these findings so succinctly Scott! They are giving me even more impetus to finish my series of short stories on each of those character strengths. Writing them has helped me think deeply about each one. My hope is that reading them altogether will provide a meditative experience on self-improvement some day.

https://www.evphil.com/short-stories.html

Expand full comment

I especially find the link to virtues (in the beginning) interesting, and would love to see it developed. I am teaching a class on virtue ethics and practical wisdom and wondering if I can connect it to characters. Personally, and not surprising, I score high on curiosity, creativity, love of learning, and zest, but I wonder if many of my business students end up somewhere else.

Expand full comment

Great article Scott. My top strength is Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, followed by humour and love of learning. I did it a while ago but these still ring true and using all 3 in my writing and coaching is great.

Expand full comment

I used to value truth and justice above all. As I aged, I added kindness as the third most important virtue. Only recently have I added sweetness as a fourth.

Now I have matched William Blake's four, Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love. I so appreciated Blake's poem that I set it to music worthy of its sentiments. If you call me some morning at (323) 294-4551, you can hear it.

Expand full comment

Extremely interesting study Scott, and a very useful breakdown. Thanks again for spreading the kind of knowledge that actually makes a positive difference.

Expand full comment