Beech Tree News Network

Recently I was reading a Christian devotional in which the author mentioned that we should strive to develop good qualities. This wasn’t a new concept to me; most of us have been taught from childhood to try to be a good person and to do the right thing. However, I thought about which qualities cause us to prefer spending time with one person rather than another.

I decided to ask friends and family, “What is one quality that you admire in others and why?” Their responses are listed below. Interestingly, honesty and integrity were popular answers and sometimes mentioned together.

•Honesty. I would rather you say anything to me over lying to me. 

•Respectfulness.

•I admire compassionate people. I believe compassion is key to understanding and respectful treatment of others.

•I admire honesty and integrity above all others.

•Honesty.

•A deep and abiding love for Christ.

•The ability to always see the bright side of things. It comes so easy to some, and I struggle with it.

•Patience because it allows for time to focus and gain clarity at times when it’s easier to be rash and hasty.

•Persistence. If harnessed correctly, it can help you achieve goals.

•I guess I am not easily impressed. I think it would be a strong will. People who do not make excuses and persevere against all odds – they have grit.

•Integrity. I fear our society is falling apart for the lack of it. I hate the negativity and our refusal to recognize it.

•Ability to make people laugh. If you can laugh each day, you live longer and life is more fun.

•I would say honesty and integrity because everyone needs to have those qualities. Too bad today’s politicians struggle with these qualities.

•I admire people with lots of patience. Being patient isn’t one of my strengths.

•Being punctual: no matter how hard I try I seem to always have a hard time of being on time.

•Kindness, even to those who aren’t kind to you, because it’s one of the hardest things for me to do.

A person’s qualities or traits are a combination of the person’s actions, attitudes and behaviors. “Your personality is set by no one but you. It is in the actions you take and the decisions you make” (http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-personality-traits.html#b...). American professional baseball player Bryce Harper said, “I'd rather be a good person off the field than a good baseball player on the field,” and American professional football player Richard Sherman pointed out, “You can know a person is a good person or a bad person by who they are, not by what they look like” (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/good_person.html). As humans, we all make mistakes; but, we must try not to repeat bad choices over and over again. After all, it’s our daily actions that show who we are.

In summary, we should do our best to develop good qualities. Most of us want to become a better person: we want to be a better family member, a better friend. And it’s all up to us – with each choice we make.