In a major international study, Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and Christopher Peterson, Ph.D.—two of the founders of positive psychology—discovered 24 character strengths common to humankind: creativity, curiosity, judgment, 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, and spirituality. 

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We all possess these strengths in varying degrees. Your top five strengths, or "signature strengths," influence the way you think, feel, and relate to the world, including working on your dissertation. 

 

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Know Your Signature Strengths

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Do you know your signature strengths? You can discover them by taking the short VIA Survey, a free online self-assessment. Review your VIA results to identify your top 5 strengths. 

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These strengths could be supporting your dissertation progress, but they could also be hindering you. If one of your top strengths is "love of learning," this strength may be helping you discover new insights while doing your literature review. But if "love of learning" is diverting you into reading articles unrelated to your dissertation, then your overuse of this strength is sabotaging your progress. 

 

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Watch Out for Self-Sabotage

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Now it's time for some personal detective work. Do any of these strengths overuse examples sound familiar? 

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• Prudence: being planful, responsible, and conscientious. 
  Overuse: overthinking, obsessive planning that keeps us from taking action. 
  Has obsessive planning kept you from beginning the next stage of your dissertation? Have you designed the experiment and double-checked your plan but are still not ready to begin? What can you do to move forward? 

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• Curiosity: openness to experience, fascination, novelty seeking. 
  Overuse: nosiness, distraction, digression. 
  Has your curiosity led to distraction? When working in the lab or library, do you waste time with idle gossip? When doing research online, are you distracted by news and social media? What can you do to stay focused? 

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• Perseverance: persistence, industriousness. 
  Overuse: imbalance, perseveration, not knowing when to stop working as you reach a point of diminishing returns. 
  Do you think about your dissertation all the time, neglecting adequate time for meals, exercise, companionship, and sleep? Overuse of perseverance can undermine your work/life balance and exhaust your brain. Research by Dutch psychologist Ap Dijkterhuis has shown that taking breaks may actually lead to creative insights. 

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• Zest: vitality, energy, aliveness. 
  Overuse: hyperactive, can't sit still. 
  Is it hard to sit down to write up your research? Do you find all kinds of excuses? What can you do to let your energies work for you instead of against you? Can you make time for regular exercise or get up and walk around to think about your project? 

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• Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: esthetic sensitivity, wonder, awe. 
  Overuse: perfectionism, getting stuck writing the first draft of your dissertation, afraid it's not good enough. 
  What can you do to remind yourself that writing your dissertation is a learning process, affirming what psychologist Carol Dweck, Ph.D., calls a "growth mindset"? 

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Get Back on Track

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If you've been overusing one of your strengths, you can begin breaking this habit by using the "if—then" plan developed by psychologist Gabrielle Oettingen, Ph.D.. First choose a positive alternative behavior to get back on track, and then if you find yourself overusing this strength, then shift to the alternative behavior. 

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For example, if you've been overusing-- 

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• Prudence: If I've been overplanning, afraid to take the next step with my dissertation, then I will check in with my dissertation advisor to make sure I'm ready. 

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• Curiosity: If I've been getting distracted while doing my work, then I will tell myself, "I need to focus now." 

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• Perseverance: If I've been pushing myself too hard, then I will give myself a break to restore my balance. 

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• Zest: If I've found it hard to sit still, then I will get up and walk around to think about my project before returning to my desk. 

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• Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: If I've been afraid my first draft is not good enough, then I will tell myself, "It's just a first draft—I'm learning and growing in the process." 

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Now it's your turn. Where have you been overusing a top strength and what's your "if—then" plan? 

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"To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." – Socrates 

 

  

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References and Resources

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Dweck, Carol. Mindset : The New Psychology of Success 

 

Niemiec, Ryan M. Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners 

 

Oettingen, Gabrielle. Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation 

 

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

 

Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410-421. 

 

For further information about strengths, including assessments, reports, resources, and courses, see http://www.viacharacter.org/