6 is a Magic Number
by Lynne Berrett
When I decided to propose character strengths as a useful tool for cultivating an ageless mind, I thought it would be a relatively simple way to share a framework that has helped me increase my own wellbeing, especially as I grow older.
Simple? I should have known better.
When I wrote about the strength of HOPE, I discovered that, although the validated Character Strengths surveys have been helpful, reflections on my actual lived experience revealed something much more nuanced. (Here is the link to read that previous post.) Perhaps a formal assessment or survey is not the most useful way to start exploring strengths.
In fact, I began to wonder whether our most obvious strengths might, in fact, lock us into a view of ourselves that feels good -- we are used to thinking of them as pillars of our identity -- but they actually diminish our ability to see ourselves fully. If I hadn’t started this project, for example, I wouldn’t have realized how much my actions express the strength of HOPE, how big a part it plays in my daily life. This has given me a new view of myself that’s a bit startling.
As a result, I have begun to visualize Character Strengths not as a top-down list from strongest to weakest, but as an interconnected web of possibilities. I am wondering how much I draw on them unconsciously and how much they are working together without my necessarily recognizing their synergy.
What wonderful mysteries we are to ourselves!
Sometimes when I begin a project, I think I see it clearly, Then, new information and thoughts make me stop and reconsider. So, while I apologize for my longer-than-planned silence since the post on HOPE, I am excited to explore these intuitions and invite you to come along.
This swerve hasn’t come totally out of the blue. Recently the number 6 has been calling to me. I’m not a believer in numerology BUT when I read: “AARP Helps You Build a Healthy Brain: 6 habits you can follow every day,” I suddenly remembered their excellent Staying Sharp Program built on the “6 pillars of brain health.”
1. Eat a healthy diet
2. Exercise regularly
3. Manage stress
4. Sleep well
5. Socialize
6. Keep learning
Even more interesting is research recently published in the journal Nature Mental Health Today with the somewhat daunting title: “Towards a Taxonomy of Positive Mental Health: A Delphi Consensus Study.”
Surveying thousands of studies that measure mental health wellbeing, the authors identify 6 common factors that 90% of the studies agree on, which they call the “6 pillars of mental wellbeing.”
1. a sense of meaning and purpose (life is worthwhile and goal-directed)
2. high life satisfaction (subjective feeling)
3, self-acceptance (positive and nonjudgmental)
4. connection (close, caring relationships)
5. autonomy (feeling in control of choices and self-expression)
6. happiness (a generally positive mood)
Other factors contribute to wellbeing, but the authors contend that these 6 are the most universal, the base.
Josh reminds me that 6 is also a magic number in music: think Bach’s 6 Brandenburg Concertos. Not to mention the 6 days of Creation. You see where this can lead!
I have never particularly liked the idea of pillars, although I understand the reason for that concept. Let’s go back to the image of a web – things that are connected and resonate with each other to create a living, flexible framework of consciousness and action.
What makes these webs vibrate? What helps us build these pillars? What else but our character strengths, the inner energies that come from our values and fuel action? We can learn how to draw on them to promote brain health and mental wellbeing and do good in the world. What a trifecta!
This proactive mindset doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But I am thinking that AARP’s 6 Pillars will be easier to turn into habits when we link them to character strengths in ourselves that we may not yet recognize.
The same is true for the 6 Pillars of positive mental wellbeing. As we explore more of the 24 strengths, I believe this framework will give me (and, I hope, you) practical ways to put them into practice. The 6 pillars of brain health and wellbeing don’t depend on wealth or other external things, contrary to what we may think. They represent an attitude that can be cultivated through awareness.
Returning to HOPE – and I was delighted to read readers’ responses suggesting ways to generate hope communally as well as individually – now I can more easily understand how recognizing the power of hope in my life has exponentially increased my sense of meaning and purpose, given me higher life satisfaction, more self-acceptance, connection, autonomy – and happiness. All of these are signs of an ageless mind.
So let me give you the names of the 24 character strengths identified in Character Strengths and Virtues. They are grouped under — of course! — the 6 Virtues.
Which one would you like to explore with me next? Tell me in the Comments.
THE VIRTUE OF WISDOM
Creativity
Curiosity
Open-mindedness
Love of Learning
Perspective
THE VIRTUE OF COURAGE
Bravery
Persistence
Integrity
Vitality
THE VIRTUE OF HUMANITY
Love
Kindness
Social Intelligence
THE VIRTUE OF JUSTICE
Citizenship
Fairness
Leadership
THE VIRTUE OF TEMPERANCE
Forgiveness
Humility
Prudence
Self-regulation
THE VIRTUE OF TRANSCENDENCE
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
Gratitude
Hope
Humor
Spirituality
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