The character qualities, sometimes knowns as character traits or virtues, influence interpersonal relationships and marriages. These listed below are Marriage Transformation's copyrighted definitions. If you refer to them or use them, please attribute them to us. Thank you for your respect!
Details on specifically how to tell whether you, your partner, or your spouse has a quality as a strength, needs to strengthen it, or are misusing it (practicing it in the wrong time or place), are contained in our books Becoming an Excellent Person, Becoming Character Partners, Can We Dance? Learning the Steps for a Fulfilling Relationship, and Pure Gold: Encouraging Character Qualities in Marriage. All materials can be found in our eStore.
1. Acceptance is a deep, meaningful embracing of who someone is, as well as acknowledging that people and events are as they are, rather than wasting time and energy trying to change people or influence events when it is unwise or there is no possibility of success.
2. Assertiveness is speaking up or acting decisively to improve a situation for the benefit of others and oneself.
3. Beauty is expressing the best of one’s inner spirit and demonstrating, seeing, and creating attractiveness, loveliness, or order wherever possible.
4. Caring is giving sincere love, attention, consideration, and assistance to others and responding to needy situations in timely and appropriate ways.
5. Chastity is maintaining sexual purity and reserving sexual attraction, responses, and intimacy as a special and respectful gift to share with a marriage partner.
6. Commitment is making and keeping a reasonable promise or binding agreement to oneself or to others, including setting and meeting certain goals, standards, or expectations and completing tasks to which one has agreed.
7. Compassion is feeling genuine concern for others and oneself, empathizing with the pain and suffering of those in difficult situations, and seeking ways to relieve their pain and ease their suffering.
8. Confidence is trusting one’s inner value, worthy intentions, capacity to think and act effectively, and ability to accomplish stated goals of oneself and of others.
9. Contentment is maintaining happiness and tranquility in body, mind, heart, and soul, with calm, accepting feelings and actions toward relationships, employment, surroundings, situations, and life in general.
10. Cooperation is working with others in harmony to create or accomplish something that would be more difficult or impossible to accomplish by one person working alone.
11. Courage is taking brave and bold action, defending what is right, or facing and completing a worthwhile challenge, even when experiencing fear, resistance, uncertainty, opposition, hardship, or possible danger.
12. Courtesy is showing gracious and warm consideration for others by interacting with polite manners, respectful gestures, thoughtful actions, and kind language.
13. Creativity is drawing on ideas, inspiration, or imagination to develop or produce something new, including contributions and solutions that benefit others.
14. Detachment is stepping back to gain a different perspective on what is happening and placing less importance on worldly concerns, while selflessly letting go of one’s feelings, hopes, desires, attachments, and need to be in control.
15. Discernment is perceiving and understanding oneself, others, and situations accurately and objectively, including discriminating between what is beneficial and what is harmful, without prejudice or bias.
16. Encouragement is offering sincere, uplifting acknowledgment of the character strengths, effective actions, or good intentions of others and oneself; inspiring or assisting others and oneself to start, continue, or stop doing something; or fostering personal growth and development.
17. Enthusiasm is expressing a genuine positive and joyful feeling, often in a high-spirited way, about an occasion, activity, important occurrence, goal, person, or extraordinary situation.
18. Equality is creating a balanced partnership between people who work together as a team, especially a woman and man in a relationship or marriage, respecting each person as a worthy human being.
19. Excellence is striving to achieve high standards and a superior quality of work and effort, as well as fulfilling one’s potential for character growth and development.
20. Faithfulness is being steadfast and maintaining commitments to others, to a set of beliefs, or to an organization.
21. Flexibility is adjusting to life as it happens and embracing changes as needed, while remaining true to one’s core values, beliefs, and appropriate priorities.
22. Forgiveness is pardoning someone for saying or doing something hurtful or harmful, giving up a desire for revenge and letting go of anger and resentment.
23. Fortitude is staying brave, resolute, steadfast, and strong mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually when facing challenges, difficulties, adversity, danger, pain, or temptation.
24. Friendliness is demonstrating an outgoing and positive social attitude and reaching out to connect with and build relationships with people.
25. Generosity is giving away or sharing what one has, such as affection, money, time, appreciation, encouragement, gifts, celebrations, positive feedback, resources, knowledge, wisdom, possessions, physical abilities, personal energy, ideas, or resources with open mind, heart, and hands.
26. Gentleness is expressing consideration from the heart, honoring the feelings of others and oneself, and using soft and careful physical touch, movement, and words.
27. Helpfulness is taking appropriate action to address the needs or participate in solving the problems of others or oneself.
28. Honesty is acting and speaking consistently with high and incorruptible moral, ethical, and legal standards.
29. Humility is seeing the strengths, imperfections, abilities, accomplishments, failures, and all other aspects of oneself and others in realistic perspective; acting consistently according to principles, morals, and values rather than ego; and acknowledging the greatness of God.
30. Idealism is envisioning what is possible, thinking beyond what currently exists, and taking action toward or advocating for beneficial change.
31. Integrity is achieving a state of balance and wholeness in life and character, by acting in accord with one’s deepest beliefs, highest values, and stated word.
32. Joyfulness is being in a state of high-spirited and ecstatic delight, gladness, blissfulness, great happiness, and jubilation.
33. Justice is making a fair decision or taking fair action free of any bias or prejudice after carefully assessing all the facts, feelings, people, principles, laws, risks, and consequences related to a situation.
34. Kindness is considering the needs or wants of others and acting in a deliberately warm-hearted and empathetic manner to meet them.
35. Love is connecting to others through affection and joining with them to express the powerfully magnetic and caring force that unites the universe.
36. Loyalty is honoring, belonging to, supporting, and remaining devoted and faithful to someone or something beyond oneself; such as, a friend, partner, spouse, family, employers, organizations, community, religion, country, or the world.
37. Mercy is treating the mistakes or harmful actions of others in a forbearing and lenient way.
38. Moderation is recognizing and avoiding extremes in use of time, words, actions, and other choices, to seek a balance that creates positive outcomes.
39. Patience is maintaining steady awareness and control of one’s thoughts and responses while waiting for or seeking an outcome; controlling one’s words and actions while willingly and calmly taking the time to respond to difficult, inconvenient, hurtful, delaying, or troublesome situations.
40. Peacefulness is being physically, mentally, and emotionally calm and serene and working to reduce conflict and build harmony between people.
41. Perseverance is persisting and pressing onward toward worthwhile goals, particularly in the face of challenges or adversity.
42. Purity is maintaining personal physical cleanliness, a clean and orderly environment, uplifting and chaste thoughts, positive words, honest motivations, a loving heart, and a spiritually focused soul.
43. Purposefulness is pursuing meaningful goals and participating in vital activities with determination.
44. Resilience is accepting, responding appropriately to, recovering from, and coping with adversity, misfortune, change, or illness, and bouncing back from stressful experiences effectively and in a reasonable amount of time.
45. Respect is interacting with all people and what they value, as well as animals and the environment, in a manner that demonstrates they are worthy of fair treatment, consideration, and honorable regard.
46. Responsibility is claiming personal accountability for one’s own life, choices, happiness, commitments, required activities, and relationships with others, as well as for the larger community in which one lives and works.
47. Self-Discipline is maintaining the inner control to perform needed and important tasks; fulfill one’s commitments, goals, and life purposes; and resist what is harmful to others or oneself.
48. Service is acting selflessly or sacrificially, directly or indirectly, to improve or enhance the well-being and quality of life of others and their situations and experiences.
49. Sincerity is being genuine and earnest about one’s motives, words, and actions.
50. Spirituality is nurturing your heart and soul through maintaining a close, interactive relationship with God, drawing on spiritual sources for divine guidance, and acting and speaking in alignment with the teachings in the Word of God.
51. Tactfulness is choosing whether and when to act or speak and, when speaking, using gentle and kind words with the intention of not offending others or hurting their feelings.
52. Thankfulness is expressing warm, genuine feelings of praise, appreciation, and gratitude for such aspects of life as loved ones, blessings, benefits, lessons learned, challenges that prompt growth, and warm gestures.
53. Thoughtfulness is being concerned in a deliberate and genuine way about the well-being and happiness of others, acting in anticipation of and in loving awareness of their needs.
54. Thriftiness is managing ones economic situation and expenditures in a wise and frugal way to meet needs adequately, create prosperity, and successfully plan positive outcomes.
55. Trustworthiness is handling tasks, responsibilities, possessions, money, and information reliably and honestly, thereby earning the confidence of others.
56. Truthfulness is communicating accurately to convey one’s best understanding of facts and feelings.
57. Unity is consciously looking for and strengthening points of commonality, harmony, and attraction, as well as working with others to build a strong foundation of oneness, love, commitment, and cooperation.
58. Wisdom is making good choices based upon knowledge gained from observation, education, and experiences, and determining whether it is best to speak, act, remain silent, or be inactive.
Note: These are Marriage Transformation's copyrighted definitions. If you refer to them or use them, please attribute them to us. Thank you for your respect!
Details on specifically how to tell whether you, your partner, or your spouse has a quality as a strength, needs to strengthen it, or are misusing it (practicing it in the wrong time or place), are contained in our books Becoming an Excellent Person, Becoming Character Partners, Can We Dance? Learning the Steps for a Fulfilling Relationship, and Pure Gold: Encouraging Character Qualities in Marriage.
You can purchase helpful business-card size Character Quality Language Cards with a helpful tool on one side and a list of character qualities on the other in our e-store. Carry them and give them away to others!
