List of Strengths: All 24 VIA Character Strengths Grouped Under Six Virtues
The complete list of the 24 VIA character strengths, grouped under six core virtues, each defined in plain language so you can find the ones that fit you.
Reviewed byMichael Callans, MSWWhat are strengths?
Strengths are qualities and abilities that help you do something well, respond to a challenge, or contribute to other people's lives. You might be good at explaining ideas, staying patient during a disagreement, or noticing who needs help. A strength does not have to be impressive to other people to matter. It can be an action you return to reliably.
The word covers different things. A skill is something you learn, such as using a spreadsheet. A talent is an aptitude, such as picking up a tune quickly. A character strength describes how you tend to think, feel, and act in ways that benefit yourself or others. Curiosity, fairness, kindness, and perseverance are examples. Someone can use the same character strength in different jobs or relationships.
This list focuses on the 24 character strengths in the VIA classification developed by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman. It gives you a shared vocabulary for qualities you may already recognize but find hard to name. It is not a checklist of requirements for being a good person, a diagnosis, or a measure of your worth.
To find examples in your own life, think about a situation you handled in a way you respect. What did you do? Perhaps you asked a thoughtful question, admitted a mistake, kept a promise, or helped someone feel included. Match the action to a strength below. Specific examples tell you more than choosing words that sound admirable.
You can also ask someone you trust what they see you doing well. Look for patterns without assuming you must use every strength all the time. Kindness can include setting a boundary, and perseverance can include changing an unhelpful plan. Choose a quality you want to practice, then name a small action that would express it in your life this week. It also works as a personal strengths list for an interview, a journal, or a therapy session.
Wisdom and knowledge
Courage
Humanity
Justice
Temperance
Transcendence
How to use this list
Read it slowly and trust your gut. Mark the five or six strengths that feel most like the real you, then ask: when did I last use this one well? Looking for a more precise ranking? The free VIA Survey measures all 24 for you. Either way, the next step is the same: pick a top strength and find a fresh way to use it. A simple companion habit is the 3 good things exercise, a nightly note of what went well today and why it did. If an old mistake is making it hard to see any of these in yourself, the self forgiveness worksheet is a fair place to begin.
Related tools & tests
Want to put your strengths to work?
A therapist or coach can help you build on what you already do well. Free to search our directory.
About this tool
This list of strengths names the 24 VIA character strengths and groups them under six virtues so you can identify personal qualities in everyday actions. It is a reference for reflection, with definitions you can use when describing yourself, preparing for a conversation, or choosing a quality to practice. Psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman developed the classification in their book Character Strengths and Virtues, published in 2004. Its virtue categories are wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
A character strength is a positive trait that shows up in how you think, feel, and act. Unlike talents or skills, strengths are about who you are rather than what you can do, and they tend to feel energizing and authentic when used. Everyone possesses all 24 to varying degrees. The few that rank highest for you are your signature strengths. A self-selected list does not establish a measured ranking, and a quality you use less often is not evidence of a character flaw.
This list is a starting point for reflection. You can use it to name what you already do well, to spot strengths you would like to lean on more, or to look at a difficulty through a strengths lens. Many therapists and coaches use a list like this to shift a conversation away from what is wrong and toward what is strong.
A personal strengths list like this one differs from a resume skills list because it names who you are, not what you can do. When people search for a list of strengths of a person, they are usually looking for that kind of language: words for qualities they already recognize in themselves but find hard to name. Use the page that way. Read through it, mark the words that ring true, and set aside the ones that do not fit, rather than trying to claim all 24.
Research backs up the practice of using the list, not just reading it. In a randomized study, people who identified a top strength and used it in a new way every day for a week showed gains in happiness and drops in depressive symptoms that lasted for months, one of the more durable effects found in positive psychology intervention research. Naming your strengths is the first step. Using one on purpose, in a small, specific way, is what tends to change how you feel. These findings concern a structured practice studied in a group; reading a strengths list alone does not establish the same benefit for an individual. You can treat your next action as an experiment and review whether it was useful without expecting a particular emotional result.
Examples of personal strengths become clearer when you attach them to ordinary actions. Honesty might mean acknowledging that you missed a deadline and explaining your repair plan. Teamwork might mean sharing useful information with a colleague. Curiosity might mean asking a question before making an assumption. These examples illustrate how to describe a quality; they do not imply that a particular job, personality, or level of confidence is required to show it.
Context matters when using a character strengths list. Perseverance can help you continue a worthwhile task, while judgment can help you recognize when the plan needs to change. Kindness does not require agreeing to every request, and forgiveness does not require renewing contact with someone who harmed you. Ask whether the action fits your needs, responsibilities, and safety, as well as the quality you hope to express.
If it is difficult to see anything positive in yourself, start with a concrete action rather than a label. You might write that you checked on a friend or admitted uncertainty, even if calling yourself kind or honest feels uncomfortable. Persistent self-criticism or low mood is worth discussing with a licensed professional through the Psychology.com therapist directory. This reference cannot assess depression or explain why recognizing strengths feels difficult.
Use the Character Strengths Worksheet to connect a selected quality with a practical action. Positive Psychology Worksheets provides related reflection exercises, while the Big Five Personality Test is a separate self-assessment of broad personality traits. A personality result does not measure your moral worth or replace the examples you have gathered about your own strengths.
References
- Peterson C, Seligman MEP. Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Oxford University Press; 2004.
- Niemiec RM. Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Hogrefe Publishing; 2018.
- VIA Institute on Character. VIA Classification of Character Strengths. https://www.viacharacter.org/resources/activities/via-classification-of-character-strengths
- Seligman MEP, Steen TA, Park N, Peterson C. Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. Am Psychol. 2005;60(5):410-421.
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, October 18). List of Strengths. Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tools/list-of-strengths
List of Strengths FAQ
What are the 24 character strengths?
They are the positive traits in the VIA Classification, grouped under six virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Examples include curiosity, bravery, kindness, fairness, self-regulation, and gratitude. The character strengths list provides definitions for each quality. Use it as a vocabulary for reflection, rather than a checklist you must complete or a score of your worth.
What is the difference between a strength and a skill?
A skill is something you can do, like coding or cooking. A character strength is part of who you are, like honesty or kindness. Strengths tend to feel energizing and authentic when you use them. A skill and a strength can work together: explaining a task clearly may draw on learned communication skills and kindness toward someone who is struggling.
How do I find my top strengths?
Reading this list and trusting your instinct is a good start. For a measured ranking of all 24, the free VIA Survey is the validated questionnaire used in research and practice. Match the words you choose to situations you remember, and ask someone you trust for examples. Marking this printable list does not produce a validated assessment result.
Can I print this list?
Yes. You can download a clean PDF to print, journal with, or bring to a session with a therapist or coach. The printable PDF is free. Mark qualities you recognize and write a concrete example beside them, leaving room to revise your choices as you reflect. You can use the list without completing a questionnaire.
What are examples of personal strengths?
Examples of personal strengths include honesty, kindness, curiosity, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, humor, leadership, self-regulation, and gratitude. A useful personal strengths list connects these words to behavior: acknowledging a mistake can show honesty, while helping a colleague can show teamwork. The VIA character strengths list gives you definitions to compare with your own experiences, without requiring you to identify with every quality.
Which strengths should I mention in a job interview?
Pick two or three strengths you can back up with a specific story. Strengths that translate well to work include perseverance, judgment, teamwork, leadership, honesty, creativity, and self-regulation. Rather than reciting a list, describe a moment when the strength helped you deliver a result. Interviewers remember evidence, not adjectives, so one concrete example beats five generic claims.
How do I use a character strengths worksheet?
Pick two or three strengths from the list that you recognize in a recent real action, not the ones you wish you had. For each one, write down the moment you used it, then plan one specific new way to use it in the coming week: a conversation, a task, or a decision. At the end of the week, note what happened and how it felt. Studies of this routine, often called using signature strengths in new ways, report modest gains in wellbeing that can last for weeks.
What are strengths in a person?
Strengths in a person are qualities and abilities that help them do something well, respond to a challenge, or contribute to other people's lives. The strengths of a person come in three kinds: a skill is learned, such as using a spreadsheet; a talent is an aptitude, such as picking up a tune quickly; a character strength describes how someone tends to think, feel and act, such as curiosity, fairness, kindness or perseverance. Personality strengths usually means that third kind, and this list names all 24.
Is there a VIA character strengths test free PDF?
The VIA character strengths test free pdf people search for is usually one of two things. The free VIA Survey is the validated questionnaire that ranks all 24 strengths for you. This page offers the other: a free printable PDF of the character strengths list with plain-language definitions, which you can mark by hand and bring to a session with a therapist or coach. Marking the list does not produce a validated assessment result.