Character traits. Let me define the term straightaway, quoting with permission from the little book Character.1 "Character is a consciously developed inner firmness that permeates the fiber of a person, causing him or her to firmly harness the energy of objective high moral values to the actions of everyday life. … Very simply, a trait is a distinguishing quality. …character possesses distinguishing qualities - traits that prove it is genuine."

Character trait lists differ in terminology and in number of traits, but most will include a minimum of these: caring, compassion, cooperation, courage, fairness, honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, and self-control. A good and rather complete list, it seems to me, is the one available at www.character-in-action.com.

Character traits often travel in couples, making them difficult to separate. Integrity and honesty are close companions, as are compassion and caring; submissiveness and obedience; gratitude and thankfulness. These are not interchangeable, but the similarities make them good company for one another.

Character traits are best built into the structure of our lives when handled separately. This allows us the luxury of becoming thoroughly familiar with the meaning of the trait, setting clear goals for setting it into our wall, and ready assessment of our progress.

If you work with others on character education or character building, be sure to share with them the meaning of character traits. It will go a long way toward helping them build strong character.