Authentic Happiness

Authentic Happiness, this is a concept that is discussed A LOT in my courses at school. Part of optimizing happiness is knowing what your strengths are, and building situations around those. The theory is that when you do so, the state of flow can be more easily accomplished. Flow is the state where you lose sense of time, where all your energy and focus is engaged, and you experience a heightened awareness and happiness.
As part of an assignment, I took this signature strengths survey, which you can find on authentichappiness.org and these are my top 5 strengths... there are a total of 25 potential strengths.

Perhaps this is a little personal to be posting on a public format, but I don't think anyone will be able to hunt me down based on this information. And besides, this is for me, not you. It's way easier to paste this into a blog than it is to copy it down into my notebook/ journal.

Your Top Strength

Forgiveness and mercy You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge.

Your Second Strength

Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you.

Your Third Strength

Appreciation of beauty and excellence You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Your Fourth Strength

Capacity to love and be loved You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Your Fifth Strength

Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.