Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Moral Identity.”

Next week’s topic will be “The Person You Want to Be.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. Thankfulness

• Gratitude is probably one of the easiest strengths to build and develop in your identity. All it takes is a simple, “thank you.” Not only will you build that strength, but you will brighten someone else’s day. People will recognize you for your gratitude if it is sincere. They’ll see that it’s a part of who you are!

2. Humility

•  According to Aristotle, we possess an innate nature to want to aim our every action toward that which is good. The theory of learning moral virtues is simple. Seek to achieve something “good” in all you do and you will be “good.” Practice humility and you will be humble. Practice truthfulness and you will be honest. Practice friendliness and you will be kind. Make the steps today to choose your path to be the person you want to be.

3. Happy People

• It’s as simple as having a positive attitude and being eager to live your life. Be hopeful for your future. Thank those who have helped you along the way. Love yourself, others and your life. Maintain a healthy curiosity. Choose to strengthen your character to build happiness into your identity.

4. Optimism

• Love, though often considered a bond between two people, actually begins with respecting and loving yourself. In order to love ourselves, we must accept ourselves for who we are exactly where we are, but be strong and willing enough to identify and make the necessary changes to be a better version of ourselves. We must allow optimism to take deep root in our identities to accomplish these things.

The Insight: Your morals make up just as much of your identity as any other characteristic or trait you may possess if not more. Take the time to know yourself and your values and build them so that they may become strong. You will rely on your morals to guide you through every challenge and opportunity in life. Be sure to devote the proper attention and care to your morals; they will guide you through every situation in life, so they must be strong and clear.

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspective for Life

The Scenario:  If you see the most positive, optimistic view of yourself and work toward building your best self based on this image, then it becomes easier to accept your identity and to extend that same optimism to others.

What are the steps to being more optimistic about your identity?

Optimism can be defined as a tendency to put forth the most positive critique on actions and anticipate its best outcome. How do you change your self-image? Learn your ABCDE’s. This is an exercise suggested by Dr. Martin Seligman in his book “Learned Optimism.” Over the course of time you can begin to view different aspects of your life and others with increased optimism.

Adversity: Write a situation that makes you feel down about yourself

• You looked in the mirror and got frustrated because you are not losing weight fast enough

Belief: Write the belief associated with that situation

• I’ll never lose weight. Why am I sacrificing so much?

Consequence: Write how you felt and what you did

• I went to the fridge and ate some ice cream

Disputation: Dispute, argue, rationalize or rally for the opposite optimistic side of the belief

• Of course I’ll lose weight. I’m really not that committed yet and it’s only been one month. I need to put in more time at the gym and I will accomplish my goal.

Energization: Write down how you feel after the disputation.

• I feel like I can and will lose the weight I want if I am realistic about the results.

Repeat this exercise with at least five statements a week until you master the skill.

The Insight:  Love, though often considered a bond between two people, actually begins with respecting and loving yourself. In order to love ourselves, we must accept ourselves for who we are exactly where we are, but be strong and willing enough to identify and make the necessary changes to be a better version of ourselves. We must allow optimism to take deep root in our identities to accomplish these things.

Have you learned your ABCDE’s?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario – Body builders know how to build muscle and strengthen their bodies: increase the weight, challenge themselves, increase more. Can we strengthen and build character to shape our identities in the same way?

Can we build happiness into our identities by building our character strengths?

A study conducted by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., Nansook Park, Ph.D., and Christopher Peterson, Ph.D., found that certain character strengths cultivate life satisfaction. The researchers define character strength as, “a disposition to act, desire, and feel that involves the exercise of judgment and leads to a recognizable human excellence or instance of human flourishing.” The character strengths most strongly associated with life satisfaction are:

 1.       Hope

2.       Zest

3.       Gratitude

4.       Love

5.       Curiosity

Discover your character strengths at http://www.viacharacter.org/.

(Read More)

The Insight –It’s as simple as having a positive attitude and being eager to live your life. Be hopeful for your future. Thank those who have helped you along the way. Love yourself, others and your life. Maintain a healthy curiosity. Choose to strengthen your character to build happiness into your identity.

Do you consider yourself a happy person?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario: According to research by Molecular biologist Dean H. Hamer, Ph.D., a single gene on chromosome 11 is responsible for a personality trait called novelty or sensation seeking and another gene on chromosome 17 plays some part in regulating anxiety.

If genes are indicators of some personality traits, can we choose to possess humility or are we born with it?

Neither, according to Greek Philosopher Aristotle’s best known work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics. He lists humility as one of the moral virtues acquired or learned by practice and not simply chosen.

Aristotle’s Moral Virtues:

• Humility
• Courage
• Temperance
• Self-discipline
• Moderation
• Modesty
• Generosity
• Friendliness
• Truthfulness
• Honesty
• Justice

The Insight: According to Aristotle, we possess an innate nature to want to aim our every action toward that which is good. The theory of learning moral virtues is simple. Seek to achieve something “good” in all you do and you will be “good.” Practice humility and you will be humble. Practice truthfulness and you will be honest. Practice friendliness and you will be kind. Make the steps today to choose your path to be the person you want to be.

Do you choose to practice humility?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You wouldn’t think it takes muscle or strenuous exercise to offer gratitude, but it is definitely strength. Each time we practice gratitude, we strengthen and build our personal character and the esteem of someone else.

How do we assess gratitude?

In his book, Authentic Happiness, Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., lists gratitude as one of 24 character strengths that we may or may not possess. He describes gratitude as a high appreciation for another person’s exceptional moral character, emphasizing the meaning for the Latin root of gratitude—gratia, meaning “grace.”  To measure gratitude, ask yourself:

1.       How often do I say “thank you,” even for little things?

• Measure yourself on a five-point scale, five being very often, and one being never.

2.       How often do I stop to count my blessings?

• Measure your response on a five-point scale, five being always, and one being never.

(Read More)

The Insight – Gratitude is probably one of the easiest strengths to build and develop in your identity. All it takes is a simple, “thank you.” Not only will you build that strength, but you will brighten someone else’s day. People will recognize you for your gratitude if it is sincere. They’ll see that it’s a part of who you are!

Is gratitude one of your character strengths?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life