Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Strengths of Love, Humanity and Justice.”

Next week’s topic will be “Acceptance.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. Love

•  Let’s just agree to get along—it’s as simple as that! Realistically, we’re not always going to agree with one another. Agreeableness doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to share the same opinions, beliefs or ideas with every person we care about. It simply means we need to be agreeable in practice, choose to respectfully disagree, and sometimes compromise for the good of the relationship. It’s a matter of being considerate of another person’s wants and needs while appropriately voicing your own and working with others in your relationships to satisfy those needs.

2. Kindness

•  It’s not always easy to show kindness in the moment, especially to people we aren’t particularly fond of. Take time out of each day to quiet your mind and cultivate kindness within yourself so that you may extend that kindness to everyone around you throughout the day.

3. Citizenship

• Citizenship is a strength everyone should possess and work toward strengthening throughout life. We are connected to every other person in some way or another, and are thus incapable of leaving this world without having made an impact on several lives. We decide, however, whether to use this connection to improve the well-being of others and humanity as a whole, or simply to use these connections to promote ourselves.

4. Fairness

• Character strengths are not independent of each other. Some, like fairness and citizenship, go hand in hand. It is important, however, that we work toward building strengths strategically, so that we may continue to grow and improve our abilities to create the greatest, most positive impact, possible.

The Insight— We do not strengthen ourselves strictly for the sake of making ourselves strong. We strengthen ourselves so that we may also support others. If we foster the strengths of love, kindness, citizenship and fairness, we will be able to sustain ourselves and each other.

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Have you ever been involved with a group where you felt you had the knowledge, the skill and the drive to help the group succeed, but never got the opportunity to prove it? This kind of perceived inequity can affect one’s willingness and interest in future participation.

Does citizenship affect fairness?

According to Robert H. Moorman, Ph.D., citizenship and fairness go hand in hand. For example:

1. People are more likely to enact citizenship when they feel that they have been treated fairly by the organization and its leaders.

2. Perceived fairness from leaders causes group members to view their relationship with the organization and its leaders as a social interaction rather than that of an economic or hierarchical interaction.

3. The amount of trust a group member has in the organization or its leaders directly effects the level of citizenship he or she practices.

(Read More)

The Insight – Character strengths are not independent of each other. Some, like fairness and citizenship, go hand in hand. It is important, however, that we work toward building strengths strategically, so that we may continue to grow and improve our abilities to create the greatest, most positive impact, possible.

 How do fairness and citizenship interact in your life?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario –Although certain strengths may come more naturally to some of us than to others, we all have the ability to grow any strength we wish to possess. Each person has the opportunity to practice and strengthen citizenship.

Do certain personality traits promote citizenship?

According to research conducted by Dan S. Chiaburu, Ph.D., Ning Li, Ph.D., and their fellow researchers, the three traits found within the Five-Factor Personality Model that best cultivate citizenship are:

1. Conscientiousness

• The ability to control impulses and act in a well thought out, organized manner

2. Extraversion

• The ability to be actively engaged, expressive and energetic in social settings regardless of one’s level of familiarity

3. Openness

• The ability to take on new tasks, situations, relationships and ideas with ingenuity, innovation and imagination

(Read More)

The Insight – Citizenship is a strength everyone should possess and work toward strengthening throughout life. We are connected to every other person in some way or another, and are thus incapable of leaving this world without having made an impact on several lives. We decide, however, whether to use this connection to improve the well-being of others and humanity as a whole, or simply to use these connections to promote ourselves.

What will you decide?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Some days, we’re just not in the mood to practice all the pleasantries that usually come to us naturally. On those days, it’s probably best to limit our interactions with others. But how do we ensure that those days are few and far between?

Can we prepare ourselves to practice kindness?

Researchers Steffan G. Hoffman, Ph.D., Paul Grossman, Ph.D., and Devon E. Hinton, Ph.D., conducted a study on the function and effectiveness of two forms of meditation in strengthening kindness. The research suggests that “Loving Kindness Meditation” and “Compassion Meditation” both work to increase positive affect and decrease negative affect in those who practice these interventions. Try it for yourself:

1.       Loving Kindness Meditation

• Focus on yourself
• Focus on a close friend
• Focus on a neutral acquaintance
• Focus on a “difficult person”
• Focus on the Universe

As you focus on each of these, perform the following:

2.       Compassion Meditation

• Wish freedom from enmity
• Wish freedom from mental affliction and suffering
• Wish freedom from physical suffering
• Wish happiness and self-compassion

(Read More)

The Insight –It’s not always easy to show kindness in the moment, especially to people we aren’t particularly fond of. Take time out of each day to quiet your mind and cultivate kindness within yourself so that you may extend that kindness to everyone around you throughout the day.

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Ever wish there was a magic key to making all of your relationships—whether with friends, family, or significant others—last and last happily?

What character strength can we leverage to help our relationships last?

A study conducted by Gorkan Ahmetoglu, A.B.D., Viren Swami, Ph.D., and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Ph.D., found that the character traits outlined in The Big Five Factor Model correlate to the three dimensions of love identified in this study: intimacy, passion, and commitment. The trait that stood out the most, however, was Agreeableness. Agreeable individuals:

1. Perceive others more positively
2. Are more responsive in social interactions
3. Are more expressive
4. Are more likely to control negative emotions

(Read More)

The Insight –Let’s just agree to get along—it’s as simple as that! Realistically, we’re not always going to agree with one another. Agreeableness doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to share the same opinions, beliefs or ideas with every person we care about. It simply means we need to be agreeable in practice, choose to respectfully disagree, and sometimes compromise for the good of the relationship. It’s a matter of being considerate of another person’s wants and needs while appropriately voicing your own and working with others in your relationships to satisfy those needs.

Are you “agreeable?”

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life