Trying to Improve

Yesterday I took the VIA Character Strengths Test in order to help me assess my highest and lowest ranked traits. Yesterday's post focused on the good news, my strengths, today's will focus on the traits that need to be worked on. In italics I have added in my suggestions on how to improve in my weakest areas, with hard work and perseverance, I know I can:

1. Spirituality: You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you. I am in no way a religious or spiritual person and I definitely have no idea where I fit into the larger scheme. Meditation/self-reflection would be my way of enriching my beliefs. Self-reflection is part of my over all goal with this site, so I think my purpose will come as long as I take the time each day to post or write about things that bring self improvement or about things I find interesting.
2.  Hope
   You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control. This survey is very good... I feel lost in my life, and have developed quite the pessimistic attitude toward both the present and the future. My thought process is this: if I don't like how things have turned out so far, then who's to say that in the future I wont feel the same or make the same mistakes. This site is helping, I am taking a step in the right direction and examining my life! Finding my interests and spending more of my life following those goals will lead to a more aligned existence with a bright outlook on the future.
3.  Bravery
   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. This is the opposite of my strengths (judgment and prudence). Because I am so analytical I over think every situation and its potential outcome. I have no spontaneity or courage to just go for something I want to do because I talk myself out of it by saying its not the "smart choice". I need to grow a backbone, do what I want, say what I want and BE WHO I WANT!
4.  Zest
   Regardless of what you do, you approach it with excitement and energy. You never do anything halfway or halfheartedly. For you, life is an adventure. From the bottom of my heart I wish this were true. On the outside I give the impression that I'm giving 100% but lets face it I find little enjoyment in how Ive been living. Because I'm not really living, I go day to day completing the same mundane tasks. Breaking the routine and approaching life in a positive light will foster excitement. With a little bravery and hope added to shake things up a bit, I'm going to try to expand my horizons, try new things and be optimistic.
5.  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. This used to be one of my strengths when I was younger, always curious about the possibilities for the future. But lately that area of myself has grown dark, I think this is because I haven't been learning the right things. I am a recent graduate into a medical profession, so for the last several years it was very straightforward what I should be learning. That kind of structure did not help me grow, it pinholed my time and energy into learning about subjects that frankly don't think I give a damn about! I have to look for my interests and discover where my heart truly lies, then I will find subjects that I find fascinating and will again have my love for learning

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