The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief: A Character Strengths Approach to Finding Calm in the Chaos of Daily Life

231 Pages·2019·2.93 MB·English

by  Ryan M. Niemiec

“In The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief, Niemiec shows how your strengths can be a
resource both for joy and resilience. This workbook will help readers craft a more meaningful and
rewarding life, whether they are seeking to amplify what’s good in their lives or find a way through
difficult times.”
—Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of The Upside of Stress and The Willpower Instinct
“I’ve worked for decades at the intersection of mind-body health, healing, and stress management.
Ryan Niemiec’s book championing the use of character strengths to manage stress is a milestone
in mind-body wellness, the first of its kind. It offers a template for shifting how you think about
and handle your daily stress. This book is a well-being booster, a resilience enhancer, and a stress
manager all in one! At the least, you’ll be freshly empowered to handle your future stressors; and
at best, you’ll transform your life while uplifting those around you.”
—Joan Borysenko, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Minding the Body,
Mending the Mind
“In this groundbreaking workbook, Ryan Niemiec takes the reader on a journey of discovery, pro-
viding help in identifying their stress and character strengths. This process is linked to a range of
excellent tools to tackle stress. At the end of each chapter the Learn, Practice, SHARE section
assists in embedding what has been learned. This easy-to-read, positive psychology–informed book
takes a self-coaching approach and promotes personal growth and development. This book could
possibly change your life.”
—Stephen Palmer PhD, professor of practice at the Wales Institute for Work-Based
Learning at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, founder and director of
the Centre for Stress Management, and coauthor of How to Deal with Stress
“This book is a breakthrough addition to the field of health and wellness. Taking the newest
insights from psychology, Niemiec shows how to turn stress from our enemy into our friend. This
book is a game changer.”
—Sean Slovenski, president of Health and Wellness, Walmart
“The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief provides practical, research-based strategies we can
all use to manage the stresses of daily life by using our particular character strengths to cope most
effectively, no matter the situation. Readers will not only come away with a solid understand of the
science underlying these strategies, but also have the opportunity to directly practice implement-
ing these techniques in their own lives through a series of easy-to-follow guided exercises through-
out the book. This engaging workbook is therefore a must-read for anyone who feels overwhelmed
by the chaos of daily life and struggles to find happiness.”
—Catherine A. Sanderson, PhD, Manwell family professor of life sciences in the
department of psychology at Amherst College, and author of The Positive Shift
“As a coach working with clients who face a daily struggle with anxiety and stress, I cannot think
of a better way to empower them to find their own path to better mental health than to offer them
The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief. We all face stress and struggles. When stressed, it is
hard to imagine that we already have what we need to make things better. Often, we look outside
for the source of our stress and for the cure. And yet research shows that we all have innate capaci-
ties that help us navigate life’s ups and downs and to handle pressure. The Strengths-Based Workbook
for Stress Relief is your guide to discovering and reinforcing those capacities to create a life in which
you manage your stress instead of your stress managing you!”
—Ruth Pearce, ACC, JD, PMP, coach, project motivator, and author of
Be a Project Motivator
The
STRENGTHS-BASED
WORKBOOK
for
STRESS RELIEF
A Character Strengths Approach to
Finding Calm in the Chaos of Daily Life
RYAN M. NIEMIEC, P D
sy
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the
subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in render-
ing psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is
needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2019 by Ryan Niemiec
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
Cover design by Sara Christian
Acquired by Wendy Millstine
Edited by Cindy B. Nixon
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Printing
for
my Maya
my daughter,
illusion – dreams – love – generous – princess – great – water – God’s creative power
each of these meanings is in your universal name, originating across the world’s cultures,
you are, at once, all of these
and you transcend them all

Contents
Foreword vii
Introduction: Your Strengths Can Reduce Stress 1
1 Your Current Stress and Well-Being Levels 17
2 Assess Your Strengths 41
PART ONE: Cultivate a Strengths Mind-Set
3 Respond to Stress with Your Strengths 73
4 Learn to Spot Strengths 97
5 Make Strengths Habits to Turn Stress Around 111
PART TWO: Ways Strengths Can Boost Your Daily Resourcefulness
6 Apply Strengths to Work and Health 135
7 Overcome Stress in Relationships 149
8 Engage the Present Moment to Build Confidence and Resilience 171
9 Find Meaning and Spread Goodness 187
Conclusion: Strengths Transform Stressful Challenges into Opportunities for Growth 197
Acknowledgments 203
Resources on Strengths 205
References 209

Foreword
Stress is a fact of life for us all. It can be a killer, causing physical, psychological, and spiritual
damage. And it can be a catalyst to personal growth and hardiness. A key question in our
personal and collective quests for happiness and fulfillment is how to turn stress into our ally
instead of our enemy. This book breaks new ground in helping us do this better.
Ryan Niemiec, PsyD, reframes the way we look at stress. Instead of viewing it primarily as
something we need to avoid and eliminate, he uses the newest insights into human psychol-
ogy to help us grow from our stress. If that’s not enough, this book also helps us become
mindful about creating the kinds of challenges that help us become strong, resilient, and ful-
filled. In so doing, the author describes what can be termed “constructive stress”—a new and
promising approach to health and well-being.
This book presents new scientific insights into positive personality elements, called “char-
acter strengths,” that reside in all of us. There are 24 of them. Their presence transcends all
of our differences—whether those be in culture, gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. These
strengths are configured uniquely within each of us, resulting in the singular character pro-
files that are so important to personal identity. We all share common facial elements, like
eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and eyebrows, and yet these elements configure differently on
everyone, giving us each a distinct physical appearance. Such are the character strengths,
revealing our unique character profiles.
Recent science has begun to uncover just how broadly these strengths apply to our well-
being, to achievement of our goals, and to elevating the common good. By directing our
attention from what’s wrong to what’s strong, we discover overlooked potential in ourselves
and others, and we escape the downward spiral of feeling hopeless and helpless in the face of
life’s challenges. Instead, we discover the opportunity that lies within both our smallest and
our greatest challenges.
With heightened awareness of these powers within, we can become more effective at
deploying them to cope with stressful circumstances. Many great examples of this are pro-
vided throughout this book. Awareness of our own strengths and the character strengths of
others can also help us avoid many stressors by helping us make better life choices, whether
those choices have to do with the work we choose to do, the relationships we choose to be in,