LA Quantified Self Meetup (3/13) - Self-Tracking of Character Strengths by Jeff Fajans

Self-Tracking of Character Strengths

Positive Psychology Influenced Self-Tracking

By Jeff Fajans

Positive Psychology in a Nutshell

• The Psychology of Human Flourishing• Optimal Functioning and Well-being• Why not study people at their best? • Examples of Positive Psychology Research Areas:

– Happiness– Flow– Creativity– Engagement– Hope– Positive Emotions– Meaning in Life– Character Strengths & Talents

What is a Strength?

• When you might experience flow, engagement, success, inner drive, positive emotion

• Traits of character (consistent traits people universally express across all areas of their life -- home, family, social life, work).

What is a Strength?

• An ability to consistently produce a positive outcome through near-perfect performance in a specific task (Gallup)

• Composed of– Skills- your basic abilities, acquired through training

and practice– Knowledge- acquired through education– Talents – ways in which you naturally think, feel,

and behave. We each have unique talents within us.

Identifying Strengths

• Yearnings- an internal force, magnetic attraction that leads you to a particular activity or environment again and again

• Rapid Learning- acquiring skill or knowledge seems easy

• Satisfaction- Psychological Fulfillment

• Timelessness- becoming so engrossed you lose track of time

• Glimpses of Excellence- flashes of outstanding performance

Identifying Strengths

• Two Assessments:

• Gallup Strengthsfinder– http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx

• Values in Action (VIA)– http://www.viacharacter.org

VIA

• The VIA is the positive psychology counterpart to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) used in traditional psychology.

• Created by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman

• A 240 item measure

Character Strengths & Virtues

• 24 Character Strengths Under 6 Virtues:– Wisdom and Knowledge– Courage– Love and Humanity– Justice– Temperance– Spirituality and Transcendence

Character Strengths & Virtues

• Creativity• Curiosity• Open-mindedness• Love of Learning• Perspective• Bravery• Persistence• Integrity• Zest• Love• Kindness• Social Intelligence

• Citizenship• Fairness• Leadership• Forgiveness and mercy• Humility• Prudence• Self Control• Appreciation of Beauty• Gratitude• Hope• Humor• Spirituality

Gallup Strengthsfinder• 34 Themes• Clustered into 4 Categories– Executing– Strategic Thinking– Influencing– Relationship Building

My Strengths

• VIA– Creativity, Originality– Curiosity, Interest in the world– Authenticity, Integrity, honesty– Perspective, wisdom– Bravery, valor

• Strengthsfinder– Achiever– Significance– Learner– Command– Strategic

What I Am Tracking

• How often do I really utilize my strengths?

• Are there certain strengths that give me more benefits in terms of well-being?

• Is there a dark side to any of my strengths?

• What kinds of activities am I doing where I feel I am using my strengths? With who?

Why?

• Lifestyle Design and Optimization– Get a better understanding for how I operate• Prediction, treatment

– Enhance mood, energy– Do more or less of certain activities– Spend more or less time with certain people

How?

• PACO– Personal Analytics Companion– Android –Based Self-Experimentation App– Experience Sampling Method (ESM)– Created by Bob Evans

How?• Signals me 6 times a day, at semi-random times• Asks me– What I am doing?– What is my mood?– What is my energy level?– Who am I with?– Where am I?– What Strengths, if any, I am using?– Etc.

What Have I Learned?

Distributions SF

1- Achiever2- Significance3- Learner4- Command5- Strategic6- None

Distributions VIA

1- Creativity2- Curiosity3- Authenticity4- Perspective5- Bravery6- None

When I Feel Energized

1- Achiever2- Significance3- Learner4- Command5- Strategic6- None

When I Feel Energized

1- Creativity2- Curiosity3- Authenticity4- Perspective5- Bravery6- None

In High Positive Mood

1- Achiever2- Significance3- Learner4- Command5- Strategic6- None

1- Creativity2- Curiosity3- Authenticity4- Perspective5- Bravery6- None

In High Positive Mood

Fully Activated (High Mood, High Energy)

Fully Activated (High Mood, High Energy)

The Dark Side…Low Energy, Low Mood

The Dark Side…Low Energy, Low Mood

The Dark Side of Authenticity & Honesty

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

1 – Independently2- Interdependently

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

When I Am Feeling Creative…

Now What?

• Balance Out My Underutilized Strengths– Significance– Command– Perspective– Bravery

Significance

Significance

Bravery

Last Thoughts and Key Takeaways

• Consider Incorporating Strength Tracking into your own QS stuff

• Very Powerful for Lifestyle Design– To test assumptions– To identify what, where, when, with who– Fun to see how it relates to mood and energy

variables– What else would be interesting to test?

Thank You

Questions?

Jeff FajansJeffrey.fajans@cgu.edu

214-766-3908