When I am at play with my 2-year-old son, I realize how
precious time is and so I attempt to be as present and mindful as possible in
each activity. This mindfulness spurs my strength of curiosity as I await each
word and reaction from him. Curiosity brings me to want to express other
strengths such as humor/playfulness to make him laugh. Not wanting to overdo my
goofy humor over and over, my mindfulness increases to tune in closely to him
and the other possible character strengths that might benefit him, such as love
as I provide him with positive feedback, teamwork as we work together on
building blocks, or zest as we jump into an upbeat activity together.
Hence, round and round mindfulness and character strengths
go – each influencing the other in a positive way. This is a virtuous circle.
Until recently, mindfulness and strengths have been treated
as separate areas of practice and research. My argument is that these robust
areas of well-being are inseparable.
What follows is my rationale for why it is beneficial to
integrate these areas. Mindfulness can help your strengths practice and
strengths of character can help your mindfulness practice.
Here’s a micro-look at what appears to be going on when we
integrate these areas:
1) Provides
mindfulness practitioners a common language to capture positive states and
traits, many of which are organic outcomes of mindfulness.
2) Offers
individuals who practice mindfulness a way to deal with the vexing obstacles
and barriers that naturally emerge during mindfulness practices (e.g., mind
wandering).
