Examples of Positive Personality Traits

Some, if not most, of your personality traits are likely to be positive. For example:

• Being honest and taking responsibility for your actions are admirable qualities.
• Adaptability and compatibility are great traits that can help you get along with others.
• Drive and determination will help you keep going no matter what.
• Compassion and understanding mean you relate well to others.
• Patience is a virtue and also a good personality trait.
• Courage will help you do what’s right in tough situations.
• Loyalty is a good quality to possess, making others trust you.

Here is a list of positive adjectives that can help you describe personality traits:

Examples of Negative Personality Traits

What would life be without balance? Whether we like to admit it or not, some of our personality traits are also likely to be negative:

• A propensity for lying, in order to avoid responsibility for our actions, is a deplorable quality.
• Being rigid and selfish, unyielding to the needs of others are not endearing qualities.
• Being full of laziness and excuses is sure to drive others away, too.
• An inability to empathize with others will also alienate us from others.
• Being quick to anger will turn people away.
• Being disloyal, quick to talk about others behind their backs or, worse, stab them in the back for personal gain also falls high on the scale of negative personality traits.

Here is a list of negative adjectives that may describe aspects of personalities from time to time:

Determining Personality Types

There are many different personality types. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there are sixteen different types. It’s unlikely that a person would fit into a single mould, but it is interesting to see which “mould” we tend toward.

Your personality type can be determined by many factors. One way to discover your personality type is to approach it scientifically. Test yourself online or ask a psychologist or therapist to analyze you.

In psychology, there are five factors that determine different personality traits. The big five factors are:

1. Openness: appreciation for a variety of experiences.
2. Conscientiousness: planning ahead rather than being spontaneous.
3. Extraversion: being sociable, energetic and talkative.
4. Agreeableness: being kind, sympathetic and happy to help.
5. Neuroticism: inclined to worry or be vulnerable or temperamental.

Your personality test will assess how much of each of the big five factors you possess. This will help you gain more insight into your internal experience so you can make sense of your own thoughts and behaviors.

How Do I Create My Personality?

Your personality is set by no one but you. It encompasses the actions you take and the decisions you make. Either you are a patient person or not, a responsible person or not. Try asking yourself some searching questions to discover just what kind of person you are, such as: “if you found an animal hurt and alone, what would you do?” or "if you won the lottery how would you spend your time and money?".

You may not be able to change your personality type, but you can change aspects of your personality by taking determined, active steps to become a more balanced person. Taking up a hobby is a great way to become a well-rounded individual. Sports can help you learn teamwork, arts and crafts can make you more patient, volunteering can help you become more caring. Even just reading a book can expand your horizons and push you to be better.

Being positive and upbeat can influence everyone around you, and so can negativity. For example, a friendly smile to a stranger can brighten up their day, just as glare can cause their mood to drop. Bear in mind the famous Bible quote from Jesus of Nazareth, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”.

While you may not be able to help it if you are having a bad day, or if you don’t like doing a particular task, changing your attitude changes everything. Complaining and sulking will only make time drag when doing an unpleasant job. Instead, try to shift your thoughts and redirect your mind. Being a more pleasant person helps everyone.

Be All You Can Be

Understanding these examples of personality traits is a great way to start your journey toward self-discovery. Make a concerted effort to fill up that journal with evocative questions and answers. Make the investment and mould yourself into the best possible version of yourself. If you’re up for the challenge, you can make positive changes to your personality.

And, if it’s your goal to become an award-winning short story writer, your characters will be all the more complex, based on your deep understanding of yourself and others. You can even take your character personalities a step further by including interesting quirks.