01/02/2023
The Decoding of the Human Spirit: A Synergy of Fitness-Health and Character Strengths Toward Overall Wellness
(The Human Experience)
“If a man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.” – Thomas Merton
Character strengths are universal, and character strengths are defined as positive personality traits that are core to identity, elicit positive outcomes, for example, improved well-being, relationships, health, meaning, and achievement, and contribute to the overall collective good.
This post happens to be my belief on the integration of fitness and character strengths and considering how fitness-health serves as a unique lens through which we can view, understand, and perhaps enhance character strengths, as well as how the latest science, core concepts, and best practices in character strengths inform and deepen our understanding of old school fitness-health-mind practices and offer the potential to advance your personal experiences.
Character strengths have been found to boost calling and purpose in life. Studies have found that certain character strengths, on average, correlate consistently highly with purpose in life – having clear goals in life and having a sense of directedness as well as holding beliefs that give life purpose.
Five character strengths, curiosity, perseverance, zest, hope, and self-regulation are among the strongest correlates of purpose in life across different studies, while a second grouping of strengths shows significant correlations with purpose, though not as strong as the first group, love, honesty, bravery, perspective, love of learning, and creativity.
Reframing, or positive reinforcement, is an intervention in which individuals mindfully reframe a stressful situation, event, or perception of a person as benign, valuable, or beneficial. This happens to be a success-centered activity, which I have applied to my chosen field as a professional fitness trainer. This is the one-key ingredient that can yield a more complete, honest, and balanced perspective for many individuals' situations.
This is the key🔑 secret and my formula for my fitness success and life-changing results for over 43 years.