Are you a sucker for a self-quiz, like me?
Take Pen to Paper: Edition 46 - This quiz on virtues hit the bull's eye.
Do an online search for “popular self-quiz.”
I had 463 million results in .48 seconds. Evidently, I’m not the only person who wants to know more about themselves.
Personality, intelligence, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and career potential are just a few options. If it’s pop culture, love, and friendship you want to know about, grab a Cosmopolitan Magazine. And let’s not forget the sorting hat quiz to place you in a Hogwarts House. (I’m a Hufflepuff.)
The self-quiz that caught my eye this time told me my top virtues.
A simple definition of virtue is moral standards. Did you know researchers divide virtues into six domains and 24 character virtues? I didn’t until I ran across this six-minute video.
I watched the video. When I heard the word “psychometric survey,” I was on it.
(If you're interested in the survey, you can find it here. The survey and the results are free. Of course, they want you to pay for more details.)
According to this survey, what are my character strengths? I have a question for you first.
Do you know me?
When you think of the people you know, their character strengths are the virtues you recognize. You might even describe them by those strengths. You may be familiar with Honest Abe, Good Queen Bess (Elizabeth I), Wise King Solomon, and Brave Sir Galahad.
What character virtue would you put in from of my name?
If you read my essays or engage with me on social media, you might guess my character strengths. My results weren’t exactly like I expected. My top 5 were:
Gratitude
Honesty
Hope
Love of Learning
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
But kindness was only number 13! I’m a big proponent of kindness and like to think I’m kind to all. (Then again, maybe I need to reread my June 8th post.)
My survey results make sense. Gratitude and hope go together. I’m entering my third year of keeping a gratitude journal. Gratitude plays a role in being hopeful. I think gratitude came out on top because of my journaling. Four year’s ago, I don’t think it would have been number one.
I’m a rule follower, so honesty is a no-brainer, along with love of learning. You must love learning (and teaching) to teach in the public sector for 41 years. Anyone who follows me on Instagram knows I can find beauty in anything. Take a look at my account. My 1,192 posts show leaves outnumber faces.
I learned a lesson from this quiz.
You can become more virtuous through learning and practice. Gratitude is at the top because I practice it.
In theory, I should be able to pick one of my lesser strengths, like leadership (number 23!), study how to be a good leader and practice the skills.
Shouldn’t we all want to strengthen our virtues?
“The reward for virtue is the understanding of the good deed.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero
We need no other reason to strengthen our virtue than to better ourselves and be role models for others.
My friend Robyn Everingham wrote in her Substack Newsletter:
“Walk a Virtue Path: A good role model isn’t just talk, talk, talk. You live and breathe values like honesty, kindness, and responsibility, sprinkling decency everywhere you go. When you make the right choices, it's like a recipe for spreading positivity. By aligning your actions with principles, you can’t help but inspire others to adopt similar values and behaviours.”
Read Robyn’s full post here.
What do you think your top virtues are?
7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good
That’s my piggy bank in the picture above. I would take it to school to show my students. Many had never seen a piggy bank. One year I opened it to show them what was inside. There were a few Honest Abe’s and a vinyl cling. Both my sons were grown. It hadn’t been opened in years. 🐷
I’m grateful for the role models I had and have in my life. They have inspired me to develop my virtuous characteristics.
It’s good to know your strengths and weaknesses. Strengths provide your go-to abilities. Weaknesses are an opportunity to learn and practice. 💪
A quote: “It [virtue] is its own reward. Virtue is the one good that reveals itself to be more than we expect and that one cannot have in degrees. We simply have it, or we don’t. And that is why virtue - made up as it is of justice, honesty, discipline, and courage - is the only thing worth striving for.” -Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic
I’m not sure geopsychology can reflect our virtues, but I did find the maps in this article interesting. Food for thought: Can one person change how others perceive an entire geographical area? 🗺
Who doesn’t love taking personality tests? A free one always pulls me in. This article explains why we like to take them, particularly The Enneagram test.
“Personally I would not put a lot of stock in it, but I would not discourage people from taking these tests as long as it helps you think about yourself and understand yourself,” he said. “But I wouldn’t take it too seriously if you get feedback and it doesn’t ring true.” David Watson, professor of personality psychology at Notre Dame University.
There are many virtuous characters in literature. At the top of my list is Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, as well as Jeanie Deans in Walter Scott’s The Heart of Mid-Lothian. 📚
Thanks for reading this week!
❤
Susan
Do you have a favorite virtuous character in literature? Leave me a comment. I may need to read the book. If you are new to Pen to Paper, I answer all comments.
Have you been meaning to tell someone you admire a virtue they possess? Share this post with them and let them know.
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Let’s meet here next week and do it again!
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