Use one of your top 5 strengths in a different way each day and take time to recognise how this makes you feel. 

Martin Seligman, the psychologist at University of Pennsylvania who pioneered the positive psychology movement, defines signature strengths as “strengths of character that a person owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises.” These are the personal traits and skills that come naturally, and that give us a sense of who we are. Summary of Research Findings “Signature strengths” refers to those character strengths that are most essential to who we are. 

Use your top skills to enjoy greater engagement, satisfaction and create a strength of habit. 

A landmark study conducted by Seligman and colleagues (2005) that demonstrated the long-term benefits of positive psychology exercises. In the original study, two exercises administered over 1 week (“Three Good Things” and “Using your Signature Strengths in a New Way”) were found to have long-lasting effects on depression and happiness (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). 

Positive psychology interventions may boost happiness through a common factor involving the activation of positive, self-relevant information rather than through other specific mechanisms. 

Finally, the effects of Positive Psychology on depression may be more modest than previously assumed.