How to Replace Bad Personality Traits with Good Personality Traits

Courageous Self-Confidence podcast – Personality Development (Part 3)

You can use your good personality traits to cover for your bad ones. It’s a process that I think you are going to find pretty simple.

This series is about your unique make up and understanding that you have control in developing it in order to find personal success.

Last time I told a story about when I was 11 years old and had a reading disability. I covered for it with good personality traits. Vision, determination, focus, curiosity.

One of my clients has been working to improve a personality trait of being a poor listener in her conversations. She’s been working through it by focusing on her personality traits of being a learner and having empathy.

In this episode

  • How to cover for bad personality traits
  • Actionable steps to improving personality
  • 7 steps to a great personality

Other episodes in the Personality Development Series

#71 (Part 1) Personality Development: Your Success Starts Here

#72 (Part 2) 3 Top Personality Traits Universal to Success

#75 (Part 4) 10 Ways to a Magnetic Personality

#76 (Part 5) The Right Friends for Your Personality

You can always cover your weaknesses.

How to cover bad personality traits with good personality traits

Your self-confidence can be improved through developing your personality. If you know your personality, know how to improve it, AND have the tools, you can help guide your control your success. This is made possible through personal transform into your best you.

Self-confidence being able to trust yourself. And we are building a skill set to be able to improve our personality by removing the personality traits that are holding us back. And we are going to be doing this by using our good personality traits.

STEP 1: Make a list of all YOUR personality traits

You must put down only your unique personality traits. Write down good and bad. Don’t differentiate, just come up with a large list. For ideas, you may consult the exercise in the show notes of Personality Development Part 1 or the list of 82 character traits in the show notes of Personality Development Part 2.

It’s very important to not cheat. Write down all the ugly personality traits you have. Also make sure NOT to write down personality traits you don’t yet have. Only write down the ones you currently and most certainly have. Just write down yours.

STEP 2: Categorize the good personality traits from the bad

If you have a personality trait that is both a good personality trait (one that contributes to success) and bad bad personality trait (one that takes away from your success) put them in both categories.

STEP 3: Re-word the personality traits that are in both lists

For the personality traits that make it into both categories (good and bad), Re-word them so they reflect the meaning better.

Example:

Talkative becomes

  • Great communicator (good personality trait)
  • Talks too much (bad personality trait)

Confrontational becomes

  • Takes initiative (good personality trait)
  • Condescending (bad personality trait)

Curious becomes

  • Exploratory (good personality trait)
  • Easily distracted (bad personality trait)

STEP 4: Identify the worst personality trait on you bad personality trait list

This would be the trait that has lead to more failure than anything else. If we can cover for this single personality trait, then we will get our greatest gain in long term success. So which is it?

Example: Always late

STEP 5: Identify good character traits that will cover for bad

Example: Using the “always late” personality trait, personality traits that may cover for it are

  • Action oriented
  • Good work ethic
  • Professional

STEP 6: Write power statements

I recommend doing this in present tense. Present tense is always more actionable than future tense. Future tense happens tomorrow, but present tense happens now.

Example:

  • Because I have this good personality trait, I will do the opposite of the bad personality trait.
  • Because I am action oriented, I attack tardiness on all fronts and make it my goal to be early every time.
  • Because I have high standards for my work ethic and professionalism, I am punctual for every meeting.

STEP 7: Develop an implementation strategy

Since personality traits are how you respond to situations, you need to identify all the situations where this personality trait comes up. Then develop habits around them.

Here is one.

Going back to our example of being late. Let’s look being late for work, we’re going to apply the habit formation model.

  • Trigger: When my 6:45 AM alarm goes off in the morning,
  • Behavior: Say out loud, “I’m going to leave for work in the next 5 minutes…”
  • Celebration: Fist pump, dance, song, smile, radiate with joy, etc.
  • Feeling: Action oriented, work ethic, professionalism (“… because I am action oriented, professional, and have great work ethic.”)

Practice this routine. It only takes 1 minute each time. Do it over and over. 5 minutes of this is great training.

In time your bad personality trait is going to be an after thought.Your going to have successfully covered for it by focusing on your strengths. Your positive traits are that get you closer and closer to where you want to be are going to be more prevalent. Your actions will begin to lead to success.

Where do I start?

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Samuel Hatton

Samuel Hatton

Samuel Hatton is a multi-talented media creator and an encourager. His mission is to encourage others in who they truly are so that they can have greater capacity to live out their destiny. He does this by producing inspiring content as well as coaching people to take courageous action toward their passions and goals.

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