What Are VIA Character Strengths? Complete Guide & Practical Tips | Lifemap

1. What Are VIA Character Strengths?

The VIA Character Strengths model, developed by Peterson and Seligman (2004), stands as a cornerstone in the science of positive psychology. Rather than focusing on what’s broken, VIA invites us to inventory what’s best within us: the positive traits that shape our ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Measured through the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), a thoroughly validated psychological questionnaire, the model helps people discover their top strengths, or “signature strengths,” and use these as active ingredients for a meaningful life.

The science here is robust. For example, Peterson and Seligman found that individuals scoring higher in gratitude reported 25% greater life satisfaction, regardless of circumstances. This is a reminder: purpose and fulfillment are less about chasing happiness, and more about architecting it through daily practice.

2. Overview of the 24 Strengths

Below you’ll find all 24 VIA character strengths, each with its core definition.

• Creativity: Thinking of novel and productive ways to act.
• Curiosity: Exploring and being open to new experiences.
• Judgment: Critical thinking and examining all sides of an issue.
• Love of Learning: Mastering new skills, topics, or knowledge.
• Perspective: Providing wise counsel, seeing the big picture.
• Bravery: Facing fear or adversity with courage.
• Perseverance: Finishing what you start, pushing through difficulty.
• Honesty: Speaking the truth and presenting oneself authentically.
• Zest: Approaching life with excitement and energy.
• Love: Valuing close relationships with warmth and care.
• Kindness: Doing favors and good deeds for others.
• Social Intelligence: Navigating social situations effectively.
• Teamwork: Working well as a group member and supporting others.
• Fairness: Treating all people equally and justly.
• Leadership: Organizing group activities and motivating others.
• Forgiveness: Letting go of others’ wrongdoings.
• Humility: Letting accomplishments speak for themselves.
• Prudence: Being careful about one's choices, thinking ahead.
• Self-Regulation: Managing one’s feelings and actions.
• Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence: Noticing and valuing excellence and beauty.
• Gratitude: Being thankful and expressing appreciation.
• Hope: Expecting the best and working to achieve it.
• Humor: Seeing the light side, making others smile.
• Spirituality: Having beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of life.

Spotlight:

• Gratitude: Research has shown gratitude interventions can increase happiness and lower depression for up to six months after a single exercise (Seligman et al., 2005).
• Hope: High hope is linked to better adaptive coping and lower risk of burnout in high-stress professions (Feldman & Dreher, 2012).

3. Benefits & Pitfalls of Character Strengths

Benefits

• Work Engagement: Employees who utilize their signature strengths regularly report significantly higher work satisfaction and engagement (Harzer & Ruch, 2012).
• Relationship Quality: Couples who recognize and nurture each other’s strengths experience closer, more resilient partnerships (Niemiec, 2013).
• Stress Buffering: Using strengths like perseverance and humor mitigates stress and reduces risk of burnout (Wood et al., 2011).
• Resilience: Those who habitually employ their strengths recover more swiftly and creatively from adversity (Peterson et al., 2008).
• Overall Fulfillment: Systematic strengths-building predicts lasting well-being far more reliably than goal achievement alone (Seligman et al., 2005).

Pitfalls

• Overuse: Strengths like bravery, taken to excess, can shade into recklessness, too much humility may become self-effacement.
• Neglect: Focusing only on core strengths can make us one-dimensional, leaving other strengths undeveloped.
• Shadow Side: Sometimes, strengths compensate for deeper vulnerabilities (e.g., relentless humor masking pain).

4. Cross-Domain Parallels

Character strengths don’t exist in a vacuum, they echo across personality, philosophy, ancient medicine, and myth. Consider these parallels:

• Big Five: Kindness ↔ Agreeableness, Perseverance ↔ Conscientiousness
• MBTI: Curiosity ↔ Intuition (N), Love of Learning ↔ INTP/INTJ, Social Intelligence ↔ ENFJ
• Ayurveda: Zest ↔ Pitta, Prudence ↔ Kapha
• Zodiac: Humor ↔ Sagittarius, Bravery ↔ Aries
• Hero Archetypes: Bravery as The Warrior (caution: beware of rigidity), Humility as The Sage (shadow: withdrawal)

Integration Map:

Visualize a web where VIA strengths serve as nodes, each connecting to personality models, archetypes, and philosophical traditions—a multidimensional chart for self-mapping.

5. VIA Strengths in Lifemap’s Life Categories

Every life domain gives you a new canvas for your strengths:

• Career: Find influence by leveraging strengths such as leadership and perseverance. (Prompt: Where in your work do your natural strengths move things forward?)
• Relationships: Foster intimacy by practicing gratitude and kindness. (How do you celebrate strengths in others?)
• Family: Build harmony through empathy and fairness. (Where can your strengths bring more understanding?)
• Emotional: Strengths like self-regulation provide a foundation for grounded well-being. (Which strength is your anchor in emotional storms?)
• Spiritual: Deepen engagement with meaning through spirituality and gratitude. (How do your strengths align with your core values?)
• Health & Fitness: Perseverance and zest turn routines into lasting habits. (Where can you bring more energy or consistency?)
• Lifestyle: Live authentically by organizing habits that reflect key strengths. (Which daily habit expresses your signature strength?)
• Financial: Prudence and self-regulation guide wise choices. (When does caution serve your goals?)
• Community: Teamwork and kindness drive collective well-being. (Where can your strengths be of service?)
• Creativity: Creativity and perspective fuel problem solving. (How could a different strength unlock a creative block?)
• Learning: Curiosity and love of learning support growth mindset. (How do you approach new challenges?)
• Life Vision: Anchor aspirations in your strengths, not someone else's path. (Which strength will guide your next adventure?)

6. The Lifemap Holistic Coaching Perspective

Strengths are essential, but not the whole story. True self-knowledge demands more than a checklist, life is complex, full of tension and context. At Lifemap, we weave character strengths into a broader tapestry—psychology, philosophy, archetypes, and even ancient wisdom—to help you see your full multidimensional self.