Sunday, January 07, 2007

Authentic Happiness

I think this is my new favorite website, mostly because it has lots of self-evaluation tests on it, and I'm a total sucker for those things. It's bananas. The New York Times Magazine had a really great article in it today about the psychology of the longetivity of happiness, and what actually makes a "meaningful life."

So, the site has a quiz on it (it's 240 questions...) where it rates your top 24 strengths in descending order. In case you're interested, here are my top 5:

Your Top Strength

Kindness and generosity
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Your Second Strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Your Third Strength
Bravery and valor
You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Your Fourth Strength
Capacity to love and be loved
You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Your Fifth Strength
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

I'm pretty happy with those. This is one instance where if you disagree, I don't wanna hear it.

No comments: