Important Qualities Everyone Should Have
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” ― Aldous Huxley.
Personal development always starts with a solid desire to be all you can be. You have to determine your core values and how well you are living them out; then, you can seriously begin addressing areas of your life that you want to improve. Below is a list of things that will change the way you live for the better and give you the sense of giving back to life something worthwhile.
Kindness: Kindness is one of the most important social skills we can have. Kindness toward others should be second nature, and it does not matter if you like those who are the object of your kindness. They are a fellow human and deserve to be treated kindly. The attributes of kindness are friendliness, generosity, and consideration for others. It takes all three of these attributes to represent kindness. For example, a person can be generous and yet not appear friendly.
Politeness: One of the greatest turn-offs is a rude person. How irritating it is to be around a married couple who are rude to each other publicly. Politeness is being careful in the language you use. Vulgarity, profanity, and inappropriate gestures are always uncalled for, which includes using the middle finger gesture in any situation. It involves always behaving respectfully and thoughtfully towards others you know or strangers. It is up to each of us to create a positive and harmonious atmosphere in social situations. Politeness is one of the essential social skills every person should cultivate.
Kindness is essential in several ways, such as improving positive mental and physical health, by lowering stress levels, producing feel-good hormones, boosting the immune system, reducing blood pressure, and lowering stress and anxiety levels.
It is mainly the simple things we do that show kindness to others that improve their day; these things cost very little energy and effort but go a long way in identifying the kind of person you are. I just read an article about 20 celebrities who take themselves too seriously; consequently, others hate to be around them or work with them. How we treat others usually comes back home to us.
Empathy: Empathy has a close relationship to sympathy. The difference is showing compassion to someone experiencing something you have not. It is a way to better connect with someone and understand what they are going through. There may be nothing you can do, but listening to them and trying to understand, can be very supportive. You can’t take their pain away, but you can share their feelings and perhaps relieve their suffering. Helping others in their time of need is helping ourselves and improving our lives. Opening your heart to someone suffering gives meaning to life and boosts your resilience to face difficult times when they come your way.
Tolerance: It is not easy to overlook the faults of others and treat them with respect and accept them for who they are. Only they can commit to making the needed changes in their life. If they are willing to try, we should be willing to have tolerance and patience with them.
Compassion: Compassion can be cultivated. The best way to be more compassionate is to pay more attention to what others are experiencing. Imagine how you would feel if it were you instead of them facing the same trial. It is sometimes easy to blame others for causing the trouble they face, but that does not help them. Compassion is expressing your kindness and understanding to help them overcome.
Acceptance: Acceptance is far more important than what some people think. Oddly enough, it could positively change your life. We need to understand that acceptance is not approval. An excellent example of the power of acceptance is the Serenity Prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” If we could implement that into our lives, it would bring about a positive change. I think the key to this prayer is acceptance. Here is my approach: I try to do the best I can in whatever I attempt. I pray for success and then turn the outcome over to God, and then I’m willing to accept whatever happens and go on with my life. The other components of the prayer are also important. When we accept the fact there is nothing else that we can do to change something and have the wisdom to know what can be changed and what cannot then take the courage to change the things we can, we have accomplished and can move on, something many fail to do in life.
Honesty: Honesty is essential for building healthy relationships. Whether in personal relationships or in the workplace, it is the foundation for living better and paving the way to success. When we strive to be honest in everything we say and everything we promise to do, we can feel like we are making headway in becoming the person we desire to become.
Resilience: We all have inner strengths, but not all use them. Resilience is the ability and fortitude to harness those inner strengths, enabling you to rebound from any loss or setback. We all experience losses; sometimes, it is a job, illness, divorce, or the death of a loved one. Without strong resilience, you fail to move on and remain stuck as a victim, overwhelmed with life, and sometimes suffer unhealthy ways of coping, including substance abuse. Resilience does not make your problems automatically disappear, but it does enable you to solve them or accept them, whichever is applicable. So, it is of the essence you claim and build a strong resilience, and it will help you to experience enjoyment in life and a measure of peace.
Integrity: While integrity is often confused with honesty, it is different; it does include honesty but goes beyond it. It is the condition of being unimpaired by dishonesty and consists of a standard of high morals. Integrity does more to ensure your success than anything you can do, enhancing everything you endeavor to accomplish. A successful and happy life is built on a foundation of integrity. With integrity, you can hope to reach the fulfillment of becoming the person in life you desire to become.
Respect: Many today approach their lives with the attitude of what they can get for themselves, even at the expense of others. If you show respect for others, it means that you value someone as a person and not just for what you can get from them or what they can do for you. Recognizing others and their value as human beings helps you to appreciate yourself and adds a sense of gratification.
Gratitude: Gratitude is a rare quality that few ever master, but it is one of the most important ones. If you want success, and most do, you must enter the highway to growth, connection, motivation, and discipline. It requires learning good human relations and developing them, of which gratitude is right at the top. It requires a positive mindset that can deal with the circumstances of life. Gratitude is that one gift that can’t be out-given; it goes on and on in an ungrateful world and keeps rewarding those who practice it consistently.
Self-esteem: Self-esteem is a belief in yourself that you can accomplish the things you set out to do. It is the self-confidence that does not depend on the validation of others. It is a motivation to be yourself and to accept others for who they are. It is a genuine and authentic attribute that makes you more acceptable to others and a quality of the most successful people on earth. It is undergirded by a strong motivation, to be honest in every situation regardless of the results.
Discipline: Without discipline, life cannot go smoothly; it is essential to a balanced life. Parents and teachers must be responsible to introduce children to discipline at a very young age. Discipline enables us to achieve our goals, reach our ambitions in life, and find and develop what is most essential to purpose and meaning to life. The structure in all areas of our lives is held together by discipline. Our society today suffers the most because of the lack of discipline, which leads to violence, crime, and all sorts of evil.
Determination: Without determination, it is unlikely that you will develop the skill necessary for accomplishing your goals and objectives in life. Tom Brady is believed to be the best quarterback in the history of the NFL. It did not start that way for Brady. He was initially talented but did not stand out above others. His determination made the difference; he was determined to be the best and applied himself toward that goal through a strenuous exercise program, practice, a healthy diet, and the courage to persevere. Learning all you can about determination and then applying what you know can make the most significant difference in your progress toward advancing your career and meeting the challenges you face in life.
Self-Awareness: Learning about yourself, your talents, and your abilities is the first step to achievement and success and is the keystone of emotional intelligence. Everyone has a talent or talents, but many never discover theirs or develop them unlike the example of Tom Brady used above.The challenge is accepting yourself for who you are and how God created you. After you discover your talents and who you are, you canself-manage your strengths and weaknesses and put them to the best use.
Responsibility: Responsibility lies at the root of the amount of your achievement, taking care of yourself and your family, and being a value to your community. When responsibility is lacking, it affects your growth and your success and harms the welfare of others connected with you.
Love is true no matter the question; love is the best answer. To love and to know love matters more than anything else. 1 Corinthians 13 is called the love chapter of the Bible and stresses the importance of love: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity [love], I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing. 4Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity [love] envieth not; charity [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8Charity [love] never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13And now abideth faith, hope, charity [love], these three; but the greatest of these is charity [love].
Conclusion
The above article is information on how anyone can improve their personality and experience a better life; However, there is an even better way by becoming a new person: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Does that sound impossible? Perhaps, but it can happen because it happened to me.
While secular personal develop has been proven to work, it can only change in a surface way, or outwardly. The Biblical change is not an overhaul of the personality. It is a renewal from the inside out, a brand new person. Anyone can experience becoming a new person by placing their faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. Life Changing Salvation is as Simple as A-B-C:
“A” Accept the fact that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“B” Believe in your heart that Jesus died, was buried, and God raised Him from the dead: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“C” Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus: “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:8-17).
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Prayer does not save; it expresses the trust in the Lord already accepted in the heart. Here is an example of the sinner’s prayer: “Dear Lord, I believe Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave to pay for my sins. I repent of my sins, trust Him for forgiveness, and commit to following Him for the rest of my life. Amen.”
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