Work With Your Brain: Start With Strengths
TL;DR: Work With Your Brain: Start With Strengths
Focusing on personal strengths rather than trying to fix deficits improves overall well-being and sustainability—a crucial reframe for ADHD brains. This post highlights the VIA Character Strengths Survey as a foundational coaching tool to build a life aligned with what energizes you.
What Is the VIA Character Strengths Survey?
The Assessment: A free, 10–15 minute positive psychology tool (created by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman) that ranks 24 personality traits.
Signature Strengths: Your top 5 to 7 traits represent your core identity. Using them feels natural, authentic, and energizing.
Phasic & Lower Strengths: Scored lower traits aren't "flaws"; they simply aren't your primary energy sources. Phasic strengths naturally surface when specific situations or high-interest contexts demand them.
How to Use Strengths with an ADHD Brain
Leverage Top Strengths to Fuel Lower Ones: Pair lower-scoring areas with signature strengths to get things done (e.g., if Love of Learning is a signature strength and Self-Regulation is lower, listen to an educational podcast to get through boring chores).
Recognize Overuse and Underuse: Reflect on whether a strength is being overextended (causing burnout) or neglected (causing disconnect).
Align Decisions with Core Values: Knowing your signature strengths gives you clarity on why certain environments leave you drained or dysregulated (e.g., a workplace that forces you to compromise on Honesty or Authenticity).
Keep Visual Reminders: Post your top 5–7 signature strengths near your workspace as a daily prompt to lean into what works for your brain.
Research shows that when people understand their strengths and intentionally use them in everyday life, their overall well being improves.
That is one of the reasons I recommend that every client complete the VIA Character Strengths Survey. I was introduced to it during my training at ADD Coach Academy, and it has remained one of my favorite starting points in coaching.
What the VIA Character Strengths Survey Is
The VIA Survey of Character Strengths is a free, scientifically validated online self assessment grounded in positive psychology. It identifies and ranks 24 positive personality traits across six core virtues such as wisdom, courage, and humanity.
The survey was created by psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman. It helps individuals identify their core “signature strengths,” which are the traits that feel most natural, energizing, and authentic. Understanding these strengths can improve relationships, increase career satisfaction, and support overall well being.
The assessment consists of 120 questions and takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. After finishing, you receive a ranking of all 24 traits. Your top five to seven are considered your signature strengths. These are the traits that reflect you at your best.
Putting Your Strengths Into Practice
Once you have your results, focus first on your top five to seven strengths. These are the traits that most authentically reflect who you are and what energizes you. The goal is to intentionally lean on these strengths so your life aligns with what makes you feel most like yourself.
Just because you score lower on certain traits does not mean you lack that trait. It simply means that trait may not be a primary pathway to feeling energized and self-actualized, at least relative to your other strengths.
Outside of your signature strengths, there are also what are sometimes called phasic strengths. These are strengths that rise and fall depending on the situation. When a situation requires it, these strengths can emerge.
Intentional use of your signature strengths can also support the expression of strengths that rank lower for you.
For example, my signature strengths are honesty, humor, love of learning, kindness, perseverance, perspective, and social intelligence. My lowest two strengths are zest and self-regulation.
When I am learning something new that genuinely interests me, or when I have the opportunity to laugh, my zest shows up more naturally. When I am expressing kindness, offering perspective, or persevering through something challenging, I find that I am better able to self-regulate.
Keeping my signature strengths in mind helps me make decisions that align with what energizes me. Honesty is my number one strength and one of my core values. Remembering that authenticity matters deeply to me helps me notice when I am in situations that feel misaligned. When I am not being honest or authentic, I feel drained and dysregulated.
It is also helpful for me to remember that love of learning ranks high for me. When I have to tackle mundane or less interesting tasks, pairing them with a podcast or audiobook allows me to engage my love of learning while getting the task done.
The VIA Institute also offers a helpful resource that allows you to reflect on whether you may be overusing or underusing certain strengths, which can add another layer of insight.
Taking the survey is just the first step. The real work is remembering and using your strengths consistently. For me, I keep my signature strengths posted above my workspace as a daily visual reminder of what I want to lean on.
Conclusion
Understanding your strengths gives you a language for what energizes you and what drains you. For ADHD brains especially, that clarity can be powerful. When you intentionally build your life around what works for you, rather than what you think should work for you, things tend to feel more sustainable and aligned.
If you are curious about your own signature strengths and how to actually use them in your daily life, this is exactly the kind of work we do in coaching. We move beyond simply naming your strengths and look at how to build systems, routines, and decisions around them so your life feels more sustainable and authentic. If that sounds supportive, you can schedule a free 30-minute discovery call, and we can explore whether working together feels like a good fit.
