Measuring your potential for happiness

Martin Seligman’s research suggests that each person has several “signature strengths.”

Unlike natural abilities, such as physical strength or perfect pitch, these strengths are moral or social qualities, such as perseverance, integrity and valor.

One way to find more fulfillment in life, he believes, is to use our strengths as often as possible in daily life.

Seligman has designed a questionnaire to help identify these traits, asking how well certain statements describe our character. Here’s a selection from the survey:

Answer whether the A statements are: very much like me (5 points); like me (4 points); neutral (3); unlike me (2); or very much unlike me (1). For the B statements, reverse the scoring, so that very much like me is 1 point, and very much unlike me is 5 points.

Curiosity:

A) “I am always curious about the world.”

B) “I am easily bored.”

Originality:

A ) “I like to think of new ways to do things.”

B) “Most of my friends are more imaginative than I am.”

Bravery:

A) “I have taken frequent stands in the face of strong opposition.”

B) “Pain and disappointment often get the better of me.”

Spirituality:

A) “My life has a strong purpose.”

B) “I do not have a calling in life.”

Humor:

A) “I always mix work and play as much as possible.”

B) “I rarely say funny things.”

Kindness:

A) “I have voluntarily helped a neighbor in the last month.”

B) “I am rarely as excited about the good fortune of others as I am about my own.”

Leadership:

A) “I can always get people to do things together without nagging them.”

B) “I am not very good at planning group activities.”

Humility:

A) “I change the subject when people pay me compliments.”

B) “I often talk about my accomplishments.”

Scores of 9 or 10 in any specific category will usually identify one of our strengths, though not always, Seligman says.

The complete questionnaire appears on Seligman’s Web site, at authentichappiness.com.