What is Zest?
Zest is originally a culinary French word that means “the peel of an orange or a lemon.” The zest for life is like the seasoning, like the flavoring that makes something enjoyable. Who wants a bland life? Add some zest!
Zest is defined in the classification of Character Strengths as:
‘Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated’
In the science of positive psychology, zest belongs to the cluster of courage traits. It involves components of motivation, adventurousness, and robust coping mechanisms. Zest is a dynamic and positive strength also identified as energy, liveliness, vitality, exuberance, or joie de vivre.
Bertrand Russell – author of The conquest of happiness – described:
“What hunger is about food, zest is about life.”
People who are high in zest are excited to get up in the morning, and they live their lives like an adventure. Zestful persons will work with high spirits and will have the solidarity to confront difficulties emphatically. They are the ones who will hold tight and not give up during times of distress. If you now think COVID 19, wouldn’t you like a zesty workforce that sees this unprecedented time as just the next adventure?
