Have you ever wondered if others see you as someone with good character? We see many examples in the news today of people with bad character traits. Do you want to avoid their bad traits and develop good character? Being mindful of your character isn’t difficult; however, it takes some work.
10 personality traits of people with good character
1. Be punctual
One of the common attributes of all successful people is that they view their time as a precious resource. When you are late for appointments with people who value their time, you will have wasted one of their most valuable assets, and there is a good chance they will view you as rude and irresponsible. You should also do your utmost to be on time for personal commitments. Valuing your friends’ time and earning their respect is an important part of your individual reputation.
2. Be polite
Being polite means being aware of and respecting the feelings of other people. You may not always notice politeness, but you usually notice rudeness or inconsiderate behavior. Polite people never interrupt another’s statements, but will wait until the other party finishes, then rebut or complete the point-of-views being discussed.
3. Maintain concentration
If you want to maintain concentration on what another person is saying, even though you have no or little interest in the subject, you need to focus. Put away your cell phone, don’t let your eyes wander around, but instead maintain eye contact with the person who is talking. It might help you to focus better if you don’t let other things around you distract you, such as when you are in a loud restaurant, but instead, have eye contact with the speaker.
4. Be sincere
Sincerity means being honest and straightforward without any pretense, misrepresentation, or deceit. Being a more sincere person can refer to how you interact with others, but ultimately, sincerity must begin within yourself. Learning to recognize your thoughts and feelings can help you become a more genuine person, which, in turn, can help you become more sincere in your dealings with others.
5. Be respectful
We are all the products of our own individual upbringing and experiences, so it is completely natural that we will all have differences in opinions on a wide range of issues. When you learn about others and respect your similarities and differences, you learn so much more about the world and yourself. It also opens the doors to many opportunities, be they friendships, work prospects, travel possibilities, or a wider understanding of the world in which we live.
6. Do not brag
People who brag may think it makes them look good, but it often backfires. Self-promoters may brag because they fundamentally misjudge how other people perceive them. Most people do not want to be on the receiving end of other people’s self-promotion. But when you engage in self-promotion — either on social media or in person — you tend to overestimate people’s positive reactions and underestimate their negative reactions.
7. Keep your promises
A promise is a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified. It gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect that some type of performance will be honored. Your ability to honor your promises directly impacts your credibility, reputation, trustworthiness, and overall peace of mind. Character defines an individual; honoring promises helps to define character.
8. Take care of others
When a person is of good character, they are considerate of others. They are sensitive toward the plight or difficulties of others, and do whatever they can to meet their needs. Caring for the poor and needy is a sobering responsibility, and those with good character seek to help the poor in the right way, but above all, help them in some way.
9. Be generous
Generous people report being happier, healthier, and more satisfied with life than those who don’t give of themselves. Generosity produces within a person, a sense that they are capable of making a difference in the world, that they are actively addressing the needs of those around them, and that they are shaping their community for the better.
10. Have empathy
Empathy is the ability to experience for yourself some of the pain that the other person may be experiencing. It is an acknowledgment of our shared experience as humans and a recognition that we all feel pain. You do not need to have experienced exactly the same events as the person who is suffering, but you do need to have the ability to imagine how they must be feeling in their situation. It takes courage to do this, but if you have ever experienced real empathy from another when you have been hurting, you will know what a gift it can be.
Translation edited by Audrey Wang.
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