Character traits, or personality traits? They are the set of traits we learn, copy from childhood and adopt as our own, the ones we believe are good for us. But who decides which trait is good and which is bad? Upbringing, society, religion, principles and values all play a role. There are many things that shape our personality traits. How can we strengthen them? You will find out in this article.
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Table of contents
Character traits
Character traits: what are they and how should we view them? Character is something that psychology views as a set of acquired personality traits. These are traits that allow a person to control and direct their actions or behaviour in line with social and moral requirements. They determine our attitude towards ourselves, towards others and towards the society around us.
Character needs to be distinguished from temperament, which is fairly stable, determined and given. Character, by contrast, is something we largely learn during childhood and throughout life, shaped by who we live with and where. It is a combination of various values, such as morality, ethics, aesthetics, attitudes and principles.
Did you know? The equivalent of character is temperament or nature.
Character is an integral part, or component, of the psyche and personality. Character traits then show themselves in a good or bad way, or in an appropriate or inappropriate, adequate or inadequate way, both towards the outside world and towards oneself. Expressions of character traits can be described in terms of personality traits (someone is hard-working, lazy, honest, honourable and so on).
Personality traits, so what are they?
Categorising personality traits, or character traits, is no easy task. They cannot be clearly separated, and there is no single definitive list of their names. Character traits are viewed from many perspectives: moral, religious, educational, upbringing-related, historical and so on. In general, however, we can say that there are good traits and not-so-good traits.
In other words, we have strengths and weaknesses in our personality traits, or positive and negative ones. However, it depends on the perspective from which we view a particular trait, whether in relation to ourselves or to those around us, and whether it stems from religious assumptions or educational expectations. Very generally and simply, we can list some personality traits.
Selected positive traits
- Decency
- Honesty
- Truthfulness
- Friendliness
- Kindness
- Perceptiveness
- Modesty
- Thoroughness
- Skilfulness (dexterity)
- Courage
- Tolerance
- Conscientiousness
- Warmth
Selected negative traits
- Unreliability
- Clumsiness
- Laziness
- Rudeness
- Envy
- Irritability
- Inconsiderateness
- Greed
- Dullness
- Carelessness
- Arrogance
- Violence
- Recklessness
Describing a person’s character
Describing a person’s character is essentially describing that person. We can characterise a person from the outside and from the inside. Describing someone from the outside is simple. We describe what the person looks like, what they are wearing, whether they are tall, short and so on. Describing someone from the inside, however, is not easy. How can we describe what someone is like, or who they are, when we cannot “see inside” them?
By a character description, we mean a description of a person’s mental and emotional profile. We talk about someone being kind, nasty, sensible, impulsive and so on. We often use various comparisons when describing people. For example: “That person is as busy as a bee.” By describing people’s character, we try to learn how to evaluate human behaviour, for example whether it is good or bad.
Human traits, positive versus negative traits
There are many human traits. You could almost say that every person has their own nature. Everyone is different in their own way, and everyone also views certain human traits differently. What is appropriate and normal behaviour for one person may be completely unacceptable to another. That is why there are so many ways of looking at personality traits. As people, we mostly view others purely through our own values.
If we are deeply religious, we will regard lying as something unacceptable. However, if our parents believe it is better not to tell someone a painful truth in order to keep the peace or preserve a friendship, then lying will not seem so terrible or serious to us. We will distinguish between when it is “allowed” to lie and when it is not. Some religions, on the other hand, do not distinguish between degrees of wrongdoing: in every case, it is a bad deed.
But how can you develop your positive traits? It is probably a good idea to first decide which traits you consider positive and which traits you actually have. From there, you can develop further. Do I want to be better? Do I want to strengthen the traits I already have? Can I influence them? How can I influence them? It is important to first learn about yourself so that you can answer these questions.
How to develop a person’s positive traits
How can you develop your character traits? They say that if you do good, good will come to you. In other words: “Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.” If we could follow this rule, it might hold true that if we behave decently and respond with positive thinking and a positive nature, things will go well for us. Setting your own values and rules is very important. It allows you to see clearly what might bother others and so shape yourself into a better person.
So we have the answer to why we should develop our positive traits. Because it is good, and it probably pays off a little, too. But how can we develop them? If we have good moral principles, we know what good traits are, such as honesty, truthfulness, diligence and so on. So we can start by listing what we value about ourselves.
Some positive traits can be exploited by others, so you could start by not confusing your goodness with being someone others can use. You can build on your kindness, but always keep your principles in mind and set limits that you will not cross. Your trait will then be strengthened, not abused.
Internalisation
One way to strengthen your positive traits is, for example, internalisation. It is a way of incorporating thoughts, or certain attitudes and values, into our psyche. That is why we start with what we want to strengthen. Once we know this, we begin to adopt the attitudes and ways of thinking that lead us to accept that nature as our own.
Through internalisation, we essentially “identify” with something. In this way, we can use our own imagination and the feelings we evoke to set patterns of behaviour. Through internalisation, we bring into our mind the fact that we are a certain way. This is how we can strengthen some of our traits: by taking experiences into our inner mind.
Developing character traits
We can also develop our character traits through meditation. Self-knowledge leads to accepting who we are and to respecting ourselves. Meditation can help us find our strengths and reinforce them, or rather strengthen them. Meditation also helps with a certain mindset, in which you “set” some patterns of behaviour.
Tip: How to strengthen character traits:
- Setting boundaries and limits (so good traits cannot be abused)
- Internalisation
- Meditation
Good traits should be strengthened, if only for our own sake. They make us even better, and they also help us take a better approach to ourselves. The more we strengthen our positive traits, the more we value our abilities. However, we must never forget that good traits are easy to exploit.
If we want to be good and kind, that is wonderful, but we must know our values and principles so that we never cross them. Only then will our good nature not turn into something that destroys and stresses us. Otherwise, a kind person can become a resentful one who shuts themselves off from others. So when trying to have a positive nature, it is a good idea to stick to your personal boundaries.
