What do you consider good qualities in a person? Your answers might include empathy, loyalty, honesty, or bravery. Whatever your list, you can learn how to develop these traits in your own life to achieve your goals, improve your relationships, and live more positively.
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What Are Positive Character Traits and Qualities
Everyone has their own definition of a “good person.” At its core, however, it probably contains a similar list of character traits. From comic book heroes to real-life community leaders, inspiring figures tend to have certain attributes in common.
By emulating these character traits, you can bring positive psychological benefits to your own life, including the realms of work, school, and family. Here are just a few character and personality traits that are worth developing!
Conscientiousness
Conscientious people do their work carefully, dutifully, scrupulously, or to the fullest extent of their abilities. So, what is conscientiousness? It means that you don’t consider yourself “above” any task. Moreover, small and thankless exercises get the same level of diligence as big and important ones.
Conscientiousness isn’t only found in the workplace, but it’s a personality trait linked to high earners. You can be conscientious in everything from the completion of household chores to the kind treatment of friends and neighbors.
Integrity
Integrity is often confused with honesty and morality, but it’s not quite the same. It has more to do with values.
Having integrity means having an ethical code and the grit to stick to it, even when it would be easy to take shortcuts or compromise your beliefs for short-term gain.
Integrity is a character trait that can be hard to assess until it’s been tested. As stated by Dwight L. Moody, “Character is what you are in the dark.”
Honesty
Being honest is easier said than done. Many people tell white lies throughout the day without even registering them as lies, especially in social contexts where politeness is expected.
The politeness theory even suggests that politeness contributes to psychological distance. So, if you’re looking to foster and maintain closer relationships with others, being polite isn’t the way.
Honesty is the key. By consciously aligning your words and actions, you’ll create better relationships, live a more authentic life, and embody good character traits.
Courage
There are many types of courage, and few involve death-defying feats. You’re much more likely to need a little courage during everyday activities such as making a presentation, applying for a job, or standing up for yourself in front of someone hostile.
Fortunately, there are many ways to become braver. Your courage quotient is something you can build over time, and as you do, it will feed into other skills and traits such as decisiveness, self-confidence, and leadership ability.
Forgiveness
There are two reasons to forgive someone. The first is because they need it, and the second is because you need it.
Maybe you’re tired of carrying the emotional burden of anger or shame. Perhaps you’re trying to be a better person overall, so you want to be more merciful at heart.
Either way, you’ll need to learn how to forgive someone for past transgressions. It isn’t always easy, but once fulfilled, it can be a gracious act that purifies you both.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to walk an extra mile in another person’s shoes. It’s a mix of compassion, understanding, and perspective, and it’s vital to forge good relationships with others.
Empathy is generally divided into two categories: affective empathy and cognitive empathy. Affective empathy is the emotional kind; it’s what you might feel or mirror another person. Meanwhile, cognitive empathy is to see things from someone else’s point of view.
Both types of empathy can be considered good personality traits and qualities.
Compassion
Are you a compassionate person? Does it move you to hear about the misfortunes of others? Do you often find yourself concerned about the well-being of friends, family, or even strangers?
Compassion is linked to positive social bonds among people of all ages. It forms the foundation of human connection, which scientists have explored as a possible evolutionary trait. It means that not only is it a positive character trait, but it’s also something that has helped humanity survive as a species over time.
Calm
A calm person isn’t necessarily someone without fear, anger, or doubt. They’re just someone who has learned how to control their emotions and stay level-headed despite whatever is going on beneath the surface.
To become a calmer person is to become a person skilled in emotional regulation. You can develop these skills with mindfulness stress-based reduction (MSBR) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). To treat an ongoing issue of not staying calm, you might also look into things like anti-anxiety practices or anger management techniques.
Thoughtful
Thoughtfulness is an underrated skill. It’s useful everywhere, from the workplace to the family dinner table, especially if you’re trying to promote feelings of togetherness.
For example, asking thoughtful questions to your kids can generate discussion while also providing valuable insight into how they’re feeling and growing.
Another nice thing about thoughtfulness is that it’s often intertwined with other traits such as empathy, compassion, and intelligence. Being more thoughtful can help you relate to people, think critically, understand differing perspectives, and apply better problem-solving to various aspects of your life.
Self-Control
Self-control is self-discipline. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, establish a morning routine, or achieve a specific goal at work or school, self-control will be the cornerstone of your efforts.
It’s a frequent topic of self-help material precisely because of its versatility as a life skill. No matter what you try to do in life, you can find ways to boost your self-control and chances of success.
Gratitude
Studies have shown that people with a gratitude habit report greater happiness and contentment even when nothing else in their life changes. The simple act of being grateful puts them in a more pleasant mood.
If you want to practice gratitude, you can try keeping a journal, writing appreciation notes to others, or making a daily list of thankfulness.
Even if you can’t change your life in other ways, being grateful for what you already have is something that can improve your mindset and make you a better person.
Loyalty
Loyalty is one of those good characteristics of a person that can manifest in big and small ways. It isn’t always an earth-shattering declaration on the battlefield. It can be as simple as keeping a secret, having someone’s back in a conflict, or being a consistent and supportive presence in their life.
Additionally, there are ways to build loyalty in your relationships if you want to move them from the surface level to something more profound. It’ll take a commitment on your part, but as with other personality traits on this list, the benefits can be far-reaching.
Nurturing
Did you know that the act of nurturing triggers certain chemicals in the brain? It has an actual, tangible impact on your mind and body. This is mainly due to the release of oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone.”
Caretaking isn’t only useful to your neurons. Being a nurturing person can reap dividends in many different aspects of your life. It can also have advantages in terms of stronger family ties, better social bonds, and greater networking opportunities.
Persistence
Though commonly associated with other personality traits like determination and dedication, persistence is its creature entirely. It’s the willingness to keep going even in the face of difficulty. It is also the patience to see something through even if you don’t receive immediate gratification from it.
Persistence is often considered part of the seven-factor personality model. Even though it might feel like it comes from the heart, it’s associated with activity in certain parts of the brain.
Teamwork
If you’re thinking about good qualities in a person, teamwork might not be the first skill that springs to mind, but it’s one to consider.
Being a team player is found in several other personality traits, including sociability, dependability, flexibility, and the ability to cooperate and communicate with others.
Moreover, your ability to work on a team can also be indicative of your leadership potential. So, to be a great leader and a good person, start by improving your teamwork.
Reliability
Reliability is a necessary trait to have if you want to foster meaningful relationships with others. Not only will you attract more goodwill by being a dependable, trustworthy person, but you’ll also reap the benefits of consistency.
For example, you might be given more autonomy at work once your boss realizes you’re a steady and stable employee. You might develop stronger bonds with your children if they know they can always depend on you.
To become more reliable, start thinking about managing your commitments, juggling your time, communicating your needs, and being truthful about your intentions and limitations.
Passion
Passion comes in many forms, and they don’t have to be romantic. You can be passionate about work, hobbies, home life, and more. At its foundation, passion is just another word for caring, and good people care.
What do you care about? What motivates you to wake up? What brings joy to your thoughts and strength of purpose to your actions? That’s passion.
Some people haven’t discovered the source of their inner fire yet, and that’s okay, too. The journey to finding your passion can be just as empowering.
Growth Mindset
Do you have your eyes on the prize?
A growth mindset is one where you’re always eager to improve. Day by day, you’re striving to reach new milestones, better your circumstances, strengthen your relationships, or increase your overall quality of life.
If you have goal-setting difficulties, you can try the S.M.A.R.T. For more introspective journeys of self-improvement, you might consider invoking the power of positive psychology or the law of attraction.
How to Become a Better Person
Good qualities in a person can range from small acts of kindness to entire mindsets that determine their successes in life. Whether you want to understand others or map out your emotional growth, consider taking a few of these positive character traits to heart. You can also set examples for your kids and help them become better people.