The Top 15 Positive Personality Traits You Should Build On

The word personality is derived from the Latin term persona meaning the theatrical mask that was worn by actors and performers to enact a certain role and disguise their actual identities. Personality refers to distinctive patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings that differentiate one individual from another.

It is one’s personality that defines how individuals are expected to function in a variety of external situations and circumstances. Personality determines how individuals will behave, react and respond in their day-to-day tasks and in their social relationships and support groups.

The Top 15 Positive Character Traits

Here are some of the things that you need to look to get better.

1. Autonomy and Independence

Autonomy is defined as “a condition of self-government” or “existing or functioning independently.” Being independent means the individual is more suited and confident to effectively handle and deal with issues affecting their own personal lives.

Autonomous individuals find it easier to make choices and decisions for themselves with these positive traits and can cope with stressful situations and challenges in life much more effectively and productively.

Being autonomous can also help enhance personal improvement, creativity and logic and can enable one to explore their own creative skills and talents with a sense of freedom and liberty.

However, being autonomous does not mean failing to realize the importance of social support. It simply means being able to rely on social support at the same time being aware and confident of and using one’s own emotional and mental strengths and acuity to deal with life and its various problems.

2. Altruism

Altruistic behavior¹ is motivated by the desire to help someone else in need without expecting anything in return. Altruism stems out of unselfish concern for the welfare and well-being of those around us – helping others simply out of a desire to help.

People often go to the extreme of helping others at the cost of their own well-being and personal health.

Altruism is an important part of prosocial behavior², relationships, and personality as it enables the community to succeed and prosper as an integrated whole.

Altruistic behavior enables individuals to give back tothe  society and community as socially responsible citizens and fellow human beings. Engaging in selfless acts of service without any expectation of acknowledgment, praise and reciprocated benefit will aid in one’s emotional and psychological development as well.

3. Ambition

Having a certain level of ambition is essential for one to survive in society. It is ambition that drives human beings to accomplish goals in life and provides the necessary determination, will and perseverance to carry out difficult tasks.

People high on a need for ambition are conscious and astute about their goals and are aware of the various sacrifices one must make to accomplish them. Having ambition aids in one’s personal and holistic growth and development.

People high on the need for ambition and achievement choose situations with higher difficulties. They do this to prove themselves and make a name for themselves.

It is the ambition that enables people to take control over their own lives, and destinies and have a sense of discipline, character, and direction in life.

4. Authenticity and Honesty

It has rightly been said that “Honesty is the best policy.” Honesty and authenticity are the core foundation of one’s personality and behavior. Being authentic with those around us helps others to feel more free and open in expressing and opening up to us. Honesty is an important part of regaining trust and forming close relationships with those around us.

Trust and honesty are the foundation of any strong relationship, without which any relationship is bound to fail. If one fails to be authentic and genuine in their own behavior and actions how can it be expected from those around us?!

Honesty creates a more positive and constructive environment for one’s own personal development as well as those around us.

Being genuine, authentic, and honest shows that one is simply not focused on personal growth and accomplishments but is also bothered about the welfare and well-being of fellow human beings.

5. Sensitivity and Empathy

Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand and relate to what the other individual is experiencing. It is defined as the ability to understand one’s emotional and personal experiences by imagining oneself in the other person’s shoes.

It is a key ingredient for relationships and social support groups to function successfully and achieve success as it enables one to understand the emotions, feelings, and needs of other individuals and thereby taking appropriate action when required keeping their perspectives and viewpoints in mind.

Sympathizing with others and showing compassion when required helps in regulating one’s own emotions and keeping them in check. Being sensitive to the needs of others also increases the incidence and chance of prosocial behavior.

6. Gratitude

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today

and creates a vision for tomorrow”

~ Melody Beattie

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. Gratitude is essential for forming new relationships and strengthening current ones.

By being content, people acknowledge the goodness in their own lives; it becomes one of their core values and gratitude enables them to improve the quality of their own life and helps them to deal with affliction and difficulty in a much more positive manner.

Expressing gratitude means one is thankful for and proud of the past as well as current life experiences and is optimistic to create a better plan and purpose for the future as well.

7. Curiosity

Being grateful and content, however, does not mean that one is not willing to explore and learn more. Curiosity allows one to embrace unfamiliar situations, giving the space and liberty to experience and discover new imagination and inventions.

Curiosity is the engine and driving force of all accomplishments and achievements. Curiosity enables one to find and discover more happiness, excitement, purpose, and meaning in life.

The desire to know and learn more is what fuels the evolution of human societies as a whole and the emotional and psychological development of individuals.

8. Cooperation

Cooperation is the driving force of human societies and their development. Cooperation and accommodation enable human beings and groups to function and work together and obtain and fulfill certain collective and mutually beneficial goals.

Cooperation enables the harmonious and coordinated functioning, working, and living of different groups of individuals, despite the different backgrounds, experiences, or goals they share.

Being accommodative and cooperative means the person is able to work and survive in any situation and environment and is able to adjust behavior according to the external demands and requirements of the situation.

People often find it easier and more beneficial to work with colleagues and friends who are accommodative and adjusting as they are able to make use of whatever resources are available and are more suited to function effectively in a situation of crisis and conflict. It’s surely one of the coveted positive character traits in the workplace.

9. Discipline

Discipline enables one to have a sense of direction, purpose, and stability in life. The observance of rules and regulations is the basis of every society and community.

It is a discipline that enables individuals to function as productive and effective members of society. It’s a good character trait people want to achieve. This important character trait also helps you learn many soft skills

It is a fundamental aspect of all kinds of learning and human behavior. It channels individual energy towards positive things in life and fosters the growth and development of human beings in an organized and systematic way.

It helps one to control the mind and body, thereby regulating and focusing attention on personal goals, achievements, and motivations.

Discipline fosters a sense of perseverance, determination, ambition, commitment, and will. Without discipline, society and individuals would not be able to maintain peace and order.

10. Responsibility

Being responsible means behaving in such a manner that one knows and realizes that they are accountable for his/her actions and whatever decisions one makes.

Being responsible ensures that people can look up to you as reliable and trustworthy when making decisions or various promises. Responsibility also ensures that the person is committed and determined to complete the various tasks entrusted to them.

Humans are bound to make mistakes in daily life. Being a responsible individual means one takes accountability for his actions and mistakes and is willing to learn from them and improve in the future. Responsibility aids in the individual’s emotional, cognitive, and psychological development by boosting feelings of self-worth, self-esteem and purpose.

11. Forgiveness

Making mistakes is an essential part of learning and human behavior³. Forgiving and accepting people for their mistakes and providing them with the space to learn is a hallmark of individual development.

Being forgiving means the individual is ready to let go of past wrongdoings and hopes for an optimistic and much more positive future.

Holding onto the past inhibits the emotional and mental development of the present as well. Forgiveness means being able to live in the present and appreciating the beauty in the here and now. It’s a positive character trait, as not everyone can forgive.

Forgiveness also enables positive communication, and warm and pleasant interactions with those around you, as it offers a sense of freedom and liberty to make mistakes and opportunities to learn from them and improve later on.

12. Assertiveness

Assertiveness and control are fundamental to social communication and interaction and are parts of a positive character trait. It shows how one is willing to stand up for what they believe in and the manner in which they are able to effectively express their thoughts and beliefs to others, at the same time being sensitive and respectful of others’ thoughts and beliefs as well. But some claim to be assertive but turn out to be straight-up rude, which is in fact one of the bad character traits.

Having the ability to say no when required shows how one is able to strike a balance between personal and others’ needs, respecting both at the same time. Being assertive fosters a sense of confidence and boosts feelings of self-worth and self-esteem.

13. Optimism and Hope

Research has shown having positive feelings of optimism and hope provides the strength to fight off depressive and negative thoughts and helps in mental and physical health. It’s one of the top good character traits and the mantra to be successful in life. Being optimistic does not mean accepting that one is not bound to come across situations of conflict and tension.

However, it means accepting that one will always come across situations involving tension and anxiety and having the mental strength and acuity to fight through such situations and come out in a positive and productive manner.

Optimism provides the strength to cope with stressful life events and the ability to learn from failures and visualize a positive future. It is a key ingredient in ensuring long-term happiness and success and improving the quality of life.

14. Being Practical

Although having a sense of optimism and hope enables one to visualize a positive future, being practical and pragmatic enables one to focus on and remain rooted and grounded in the present.

Being practical makes it easier to analyze the pros and cons of a situation, thereby making a decision by taking all perspectives and viewpoints into consideration. It’s a great positive character trait.

Pragmatic people are able to think logically and critically in any given situation and therefore have a high sense of confidence and self-esteem when it comes to dealing with stressful or unfamiliar situations. Being practical involves being more resilient to failure and accepting that both failure and success are equally important parts of life.

15. Confidence and Humility

Another great character personality trait, self-esteem, manifest in people’s experiences, choices, and decisions in life. Having a high sense of self-esteem and self-confidence means the individual is more mentally prepared to deal with any crisis in life and holds the confidence to take care of themselves and explore their imagination, creativity and fullest potential.

People high in self-esteem are more mentally prepared to accept a new challenge and do not fear failure or uncertainty. Such individuals do not function or operate to gain the approval of others. Rather they confidently act in accordance with their own set of stringent beliefs and ideals.

However, having a sense of over-confidence makes it difficult and inflexible and opposed to trying out new things and listening to the opinions of others. Modesty and humility is, therefore, essential asset for self-improvement and development as well. Humility does not imply a lack of pride or confidence in one’s accomplishments.

Rather, it means recognizing and realizing the areas and domains that need improvement and enhancement. It encompasses the ability to accept our shortcomings and flaws and be willing to listen to and accept the views of those around us.

Do You Have the Top Good Character Traits?

Good character traits work in a co-dependent manner. People are driven by a desire to learn and acquire more knowledge and explore more skills and thereby developing a sense of curiosity and imagination. Having a sense of ambition fosters purpose, direction, and discipline in life.

Being disciplined and responsible helps maintain a sense of self-esteem, control, and assertiveness in life. Being disciplined also makes it easy for individuals to cooperate and adjust to each other, thereby promoting a sense of harmony and unity. Cooperation further creates feelings of forgiveness, optimism, humility, and servility.

Traits that encompass positive personality differ from one individual to another. However, the final objective is to enable one to function in society in a productive and positive manner and to promote and aid effective social interaction and behavior. Let us know what top positive character traits you need to improve on.

1. Elster, Jon. “Altruistic behavior and altruistic motivations.” Handbook of the economics of giving, altruism and reciprocity 1 (2006): 183-206. ↩︎
2. Penner, Louis A., et al. “Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives.” Annu. Rev. Psychol. 56 (2005): 365-392. ↩︎
3. Reis, Harry T., W. Andrew Collins, and Ellen Berscheid. “The relationship context of human behavior and development.” Psychological bulletin 126.6 (2000): 844. ↩︎

Last Updated on March 26, 2024 by NamitaSoren