Cal Poly Pomona Positive Psychology Challenge Descriptive Essay

This third reflection assignment asks you to participate in a 3-day positive psychology challenge.

Instructions: For 3 consecutive days, you will be asked to reflect on your strengths, what you are grateful for, and your daily emotions.

1. First, complete the Values in Action (VIA) survey to assess your character strengths. The survey is 15 minutes long and presents your character strengths in order. Take note of your top 5 strengths–what were they? Were you surprised by your results? Do you agree that these are your top 5? Do you feel like something is missing?

• Survey link: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/regist…

1. Then, think of a time when you used one of these strengths. Visualize the event in as much detail as possible. What were you doing? What were the feelings that were experienced at the time? Were they pleasant or unpleasant?
2. Next, for 3 days in a row, keep a daily journal. At the end of each day, answer the following questions:

• How did you use your strengths today?
• What were 3 things you were grateful for today? How different would your life be without these things?
• What were some emotions you experienced throughout the day? What caused them?
• NOTE: DO NOT TURN IN YOUR DAILY JOURNAL. I encourage you to be as reflective and vulnerable as possible–it is for your eyes only.

1. At the end of these 3 days, please turn in a summary of your experience with the daily journal. Specifically, answer the following questions:

• Did you use your strengths as much as you’d like? What are some ways you can deploy your strengths in your daily life?
• Did you notice any patterns about what you are grateful for? Was practicing daily gratitude beneficial? Why or why not?
• What emotions visit you most often? Why do you think that is? How might it affect you if you welcomed all your emotions rather than denying them? What benefits could there be in welcoming unpleasant emotions? Were you surprised by any emotions? How can you increase the number of positive emotions you experience?

In sum, the reflection can be as many pages as you’d like and should answer the questions from bullet point #1 (about your top 5 strengths), from bullet point #2 (an instance you were using a strength), and from bullet point #4 (a summary of your daily journal experience).