Positive Psychology Column for 9-7-03 By Tom Muha, Ph.D. Let Your Spirit Soar We’re all among the walking wounded.  We have all suffered, struggled, and strived to overcome setbacks.  With pain an inevitable part of life, it’s astonishing that we’re able to find the strength to get back up and go on with life. But we do, every day.  Our spirit gives us hope in the face of the ongoing challenges of life.  It triggers creativity within us when we’re confronted with problems and launches loving emotions to help us reconnect to people who have hurt us. It is our spiritual energy that pulls us out of our downward spirals and gives us the strength to produce upward spirals fueled by proactive choices and positive emotions.  Upward spirals occur when we mobilize our spiritual energy to devise a wide variety of creative options and then to put these possibilities into action. To test your level of spiritual energy answer the following four questions, rating yourself from a low of 1 to a high of 10: ·                      What is your level of excitement about going to work? ·                      How much do you enjoy what you do? ·                      How clear are you about what you value most in life? ·                      How well do you hold yourself accountable to those values? If your score is 36 or above, you have a significant level of spiritual energy in your life.  If your score is 31 or lower, you are probably disconnected from any compelling sense of purpose, passion or direction. If you live your life without an awareness of your values, you’re likely to make choices that contradict your values. That’s what destroys your personal power.  It’s not only other people and the troubles of life that zap our personal power.  Just as often we do it to ourselves. We devote our life’s energies to doing things we don’t believe are valuable. We give in to our impulses, cut a few corners, and end up selling ourselves short. We stop living by our own rules and gradually give up ownership of our lives. We start down the slippery slope of shortcuts to happiness, and end up bypassing the core of courage we need to live up to our values.  We tell ourselves that is just the way life is these days.  But when you give up your values you starve your spirit and kill your chances for achieving happiness. Spirituality is your strongest power.  It is the source of your motivation.  It puts you in touch with your purpose in life, which in turn produces perseverance and direction.  It is your link to the Higher Power, whose force can be felt gently giving you the momentum you need to achieve great goals.           Your human spirit is an amazing source of energy.  It can stir your soul with dreams of a happiness at night and invigorate you with new plans when you awake each morning. To ignite your spirit you must connect to your innermost values and commit to using your character strengths.  Enhancing your spiritual energy starts by discovering those values that you find most meaningful and inspiring.  Here’s a list of words you can use as a springboard to discover the four or five values that you believe would best describe your ideal self: Accepting, Adventuresome, Athletic, Appreciative, Artistic, Attractive, Bold, Charming, Cheerful, Clean, Compassionate, Courageous, Creative, Curious, Dependable, Disciplined, Empathic, Enthusiastic, Fair, Flexible, Forgiving, Helpful,  Extraverted, Grateful, Honest, Hopeful, Humble, Humorous, Intelligent, Inventive, Just, Kind, Leader, Learned, Logical, Loving, Loyal, Masterful, Motivated, Organized, Optimistic, Perceptive, Persevering, Proactive, Prudent, Purposeful, Secure, Thrifty, Trustworthy, Understanding, Visionary, Wise. No one could possibly embody all of these qualities.  Pick out the top five values that are most applicable to you and write them down.  This is your vision of you when you are at your very best.  Put your list somewhere that allows you to see your values every day. When you know your core values, your life will have a focus and you will have inner security when life becomes chaotic and confusing.  When you are living up to your values, your spirit will lead in the battle against fear and doubt.  You will be able to tap into your strengths to vanquish discouragement, disagreement, and disappointment. Make a commitment to live according to your values and life will be immensely rewarding, spawning a strong sense of self-worth.  It will give you a stable center that will help you to navigate the storms you will encounter on the pathway of life.   Tom Muha is a psychologist in Annapolis. He welcomes your comments and questions. To contact him call (443) 454-7274 or email him at tom@achievinghappiness.com.