{"id":206497,"date":"2019-08-27T18:38:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T18:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/strengthbasedliving.com\/?p=206497"},"modified":"2021-05-05T16:48:13","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T16:48:13","slug":"strengths-fluency-for-clarity-and-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strengthbasedliving.com\/strengthbasedliving.com\/understanding-strengths\/strengths-fluency-for-clarity-and-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengths Fluency: Language for Clarity and Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

G\u2019day mates! How ya goin\u2019?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

I recently returned from a once-in-a-lifetime, 3-week trip to Australia. I traveled across the world to 1) share the preliminary results of a study that Dr. Karen S. Whelan-Berry<\/a> and I are co-leading and 2) enjoy the culture and hospitality of our Aussie friends Down Under. I\u2019ll share more about the study in a future blog post.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, I noticed a slight language barrier even though everyone spoke English. I was unfamiliar with certain pronunciations and colloquialisms, which impeded my ability to understand and navigate with ease. On the 15-hour plane ride home, I was thinking about how similar this is to the language of character strengths: building fluency is key. The rest of this article explores the notion of fluency and how to boost your strengths<\/em> fluency. Strengths fluency is the ability to express oneself articulately through the 24 capacities<\/a> known as character strengths. The rest of this article explores the notion of fluency and how to boost your strengths <\/em>fluency, so you can apply greater clarity and confidence to the adventures in your life.<\/p>\n

Fluency smooths the journey<\/h2>\n

No matter where I visited \u2013 Melbourne, Port Douglas, or Sydney \u2013 I found myself asking the locals to slow their speech or repeat things. I came to understand that:<\/p>\n

g\u2019day = hello
\nmate = informal address for friends and strangers
\nhow ya goin\u2019 = how are you?
\narvo = afternoon
\navo = avocado
\nbarbie = barbecue (a grill)
\nhooroo = goodbye<\/p>\n

Interestingly, they don\u2019t pronounce the \u201cr\u201d sound like we do in Chicago, so the word for afternoon sounded like avocado. Also, I wondered about how to answer the question: How ya goin\u2019? I didn\u2019t know at first. They were extending hospitality and I didn\u2019t feel comfortable returning it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Although these barriers seemed minor, I began to notice my frustration lessen as my knowledge grew. I experienced the benefits of fluency: clarity, greater ability to navigate, confidence in getting around. All of which led to deeper enjoyment of the adventure. If you\u2019ve ever been in a situation where your native language isn\u2019t spoken, or even sounds different, you can probably relate.<\/p>\n

Why character strengths fluency?<\/h2>\n

Character strengths fluency is about learning a universal language that describes the virtuous traits of humans around the world. In truth, the \u201cvirtuous person\u201d doesn\u2019t exist. This journey is about becoming more <\/em>virtuous, not arriving at a virtuous pinnacle. In fact, someone who thinks they don\u2019t need to strengthen their character strengths might be underusing humility! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Developing your strengths fluency is a worthy investment. Consider that:<\/p>\n