Activity 4
A Beautiful Day
Seligman says that “A full life consists in experiencing positive emotions about the past and future, savoring positive feelings from the pleasures, deriving abundant gratification from your signature strengths, and using these strengths in the service of something larger to obtain meaning.”
Thinking about activity four I decided that every day is a beautiful day.
For me, a beautiful day is not about any one thing, it is about finding joy in what is currently happening in my life.
I don’t want to establish just one beautiful day. I want to cherish everyday that I have.
Currently my days are full of routine, for the past five years I have worked and gone to school, which doesn’t give me a lot of time to play. Nor, do I have much knowledge on current events, or the mass media. But, I do find joy and happiness in the time that I have to do these things and especially savor the moments that I have with family and friends.
All of which is beautiful. My current situation is beautiful in itself. If something happens during any day, that is disturbing, I try to process and journal it and decide what would make the event better.
All in all, I try to remain positive and since taking the character strength test and finding out my strengths I try to apply them to my daily routine.
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it.”
~James Allen
Activity 6
Forgiveness and Forget about Forgetting
Why is it so hard to forgive? I don’t think one will ever forget, but allowing yourself to forgive will dull the vividness of the memory of the hurt.
I have had some very difficult experiences in my life that are very hard to forgive. During these times of hurt and betrayal I wish that my mind would just forget the event. But, why is it that when you are hurt those thoughts are so much stronger than any other thought in your head? You just can’t seem to turn it off. It is so consuming and debilitating!
I would assume that we are all different when it comes to the ease of forgiveness. I would love for it to be easy. I wish it were a strong virtue of mine, but forgiveness seems difficult. I looked up my forgiveness virtue; forgiveness is ranked #11 on my character strengths. I thought it would be lower, but that was my own speculation. The hardest person on me is myself.
I have realized by having to do this exercise that this is an area that could use some improvement. And with that said, I will begin to use the steps to forgiveness (REACH) more often when I feel hurt.
I realize now that positive healthy relationships are not possible unless you are able to forgive.
REACH
- Recall the hurt
- Empathize
- Altruistic gift of forgiveness
- Commit to forgive
- Hold on to forgiveness