I took the VIA test? Are some of these values better than others?

This question makes me remember when I first took the VIA.  My number one value was gratitude.  I clearly remember my reaction which was along the lines of “Gratitude?!  That is my number one strength?!%$#@#   Gratitude (hear sneering voice) is the best I've got?”  I was not pleased.  I had my eye on other strengths that looked much cooler to me.  That was about 15 years ago and since then I have had a lot of time to consider the role that gratitude plays in my life, to observe it and think about its influences.  I have to give the developers of the VIA credit for bringing something to my attention that was clearly not on my radar.  I have noticed since then that being grateful helps me appreciate what I have and that makes me more peaceful.  I see how expressing gratitude brings me close to the people I like and helps me get along with the ones I don’t like as much.  I have also read quite a bit about gratitude in the research literature and found out that we grateful people are likely to be less angry or lonely or depressed and more likely to have compassion and acceptance for ourselves.  (For a review of the gratitude literature and several other values check out Tugade, Shiota and Kirby: 2014).

The question of the best values is also one that has engaged researchers and one that I will be returning to this month.  The value of different values is an important question both for the people who hold the values (for example which values make you healthier and happier?) and for the world (which values make the world a better place).  This question is a bit complicated because there is no one agreed upon list of values. Perhaps a good place to start is some VIA research because I suggested you start with that test.  Research highlighted on the VIA site https://www.viacharacter.org/www/Research/Character-Research-Findings suggests that the characters strengths that have the highest associations with life satisfaction are zest, hope, gratitude, love and curiosity.  In terms of achievement, perseverance is a highly ranked strength.  Relative to behaviors that make you physically healthy, most character strengths seem useful.  The short answer to this question then is that different strengths will take you different places.  Perhaps the best advice for starting to work with your top values is to take some time to see how they fit and observe yourself as you use them in the coming days.

Tugade, M., Shiota, M., Kirby, L (2014). Handbook of positive emotions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.