You may wonder what it really takes to build character and acquire the mental strength to keep going in the face of adversity.
There is no one perfect person that has all of the best traits, though there are some strong personality traits that many of the happiest and most successful people have in common. Let’s look through some of these traits of a strong character.
1) Strong opinions
One of the most common personality traits that strong people tend to have is being opinionated. Firm beliefs about important topics like religion and human rights are common amongst those with a strong personality.
Having strong opinions doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to voice them. In fact, some strong personalities may be extremely opinionated, but keeping those opinions to yourself can be a sign of self-awareness.
And actually, strong opinions alone may show signs of a strong character, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. This can often come across as arrogant, stubborn and negative.
2) Tolerance
A person’s ability to accept feedback from others, and realize that others may have a different opinion to them based on a drastically different life experience, is one of the best communication skills that someone can have.
Tolerance is often mistaken for having a weak character. But actually, it’s important to be self aware and acknowledge that your perspective on situations may not always be the right one. Building up your tolerance is a great way to become a well rounded individual, capable of communicating with anyone.
3) Show Conviction
It’s important to show conviction in everything you do. You’ve likely heard the phrase that “there’s no point in doing something half-heartedly”, which essentially means that you should put your all into things.
This counts for every different aspect and situation in your life. Whether you’re at work or just having a conversation with a friend, talking with conviction and listening with focus helps to build strong relationships. This is a huge part of minimalism, and living life with intent is at the core of mindfulness too.
4) No victim mentality
Victim mentality is often misunderstood, and taken to mean that someone is playing the victim without warrant.
The truth is that victim mentality is entirely personal and an individual characteristic. It’s realizing that despite your privileged or disadvantaged upbringing, that no-one is coming to save you, and only you are responsible for your actions.
When it comes to strong personality traits, mental strength is one of the most important in both our personal and professional life. Self pity is normal on occasion, but a strong mind will persevere and overcome challenges.
5) Self Confidence
There’s a fine line between self confidence and arrogance, and some of the most successful people of our time dance across this line. However, arrogance is often typically attributed to those that don’t have confidence in their own abilities.
People with strong personalities tend to have a lot of confidence in themselves without having to brag about it. This is attained over years of achievements, meeting goals, and maintaining healthy habits.
Increasing your confidence can have a knock on effect into your other attributes, like quick decision making and the willingness to take on challenging tasks.
6) Ambition
One thing that pretty much all strong personality types have in common is ambition or a thirst for achievement. This isn’t a thirst for excess, which can sometimes lead to always wanting more when you don’t necessarily need it.
But clear goals are important for anyone that doesn’t want to end up on the inevitable hamster wheel of life. A strong person takes responsibility for their own actions and will always find a way to achieve their goals.
7) Flexibility
It’s important to set boundaries in life, and many people try to stay on the same track no matter what. But flexibility can be an indicator of a strong personality, and the most resourceful characters will be able to find a way to make things work.
When unexpected events change the flow of things, the ability to switch your strategy can be the differences between success and failure. This also shows good self control.
8) Compare yourself to no-one
Everyone has long term goals, and being results oriented is never a bad thing. But when you continually keep comparing yourself to your family and friends, you’ve already lost the race.
Even worse is with social media, you can find yourself comparing against Instagram and TikTok influencers that are just showing you short snippets of their life.
Being comfortable in your skin and not seeking anyone’s approval is part of a powerful personality – the only person you’re competing with is your yesterday self.
9) Solitude
Some people struggle when they are forced to spend time alone. But finding solace in solitude is important, and being comfortable spending time alone can help you to become self sufficient.
This can be doing a variety of activities – from simply doing nothing through to meditation, yoga, mindfulness and more. It doesn’t make you a weak person to rely on other people, but building your own mental fortress is vital for both your mental wellbeing and your inner peace.
10) Self Motivation
You will hear people talk about having a strong work ethic, but not everyone knows what this truly means. In many cases, it refers to self motivation and the ability to keep going despite what life throws your way.
Being strong willed and attacking life at full speed is tougher than most people think, but it’s a one of the strong personality traits that most successful people have in common.
11) Thirst for Knowledge
Being eager to learn new things is one of the strong personality traits that is a defining characteristic amongst the most successful people in the world.
A thirst for knowledge is heavily related to humility, and acknowledging that you still have much to learn in the game of life – no matter whether you’re 16 or 60 years old, there’s still more to master.
12) Taking Ownership of Mistakes
Making more errors doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bad at something – in fact, it can develop into to more ideas and gradually, more success. A self assured person can make mistakes, and then face the consequences head on.
Taking ownership of the mistakes that you make in life is important if you want a well developed sense of responsibility. Facing your faults and inadequacies head on is always best in the long run, as avoiding them can come back to haunt you later in life.
13) Empathy for others
Having compassion for other people is the sign of a strong personality with a high level of emotional intelligence.
You emotional intelligence, or EQ, determines how you can understand both your own emotions but also the emotions of others too. This includes showing other people respect, even when you disagree with them.
Being fully aware of other people’s feelings is the sign of a strong character – especially if it’s with people that you’re not friends with, or those that you aren’t particularly fond of.
14) Accepting constructive criticism
In line with both owning your mistakes and respecting other people’s opinions, the ability to take constructive criticism from others is severely underrated. Even some of the strongest people struggle with criticism and how to deal with it.
As long as it comes from a good place and is said respectfully, acknowledging your critics is important if you want to develop a strong sense of self. Listen to the different aspects of their critique, and even if you disagree with it, take in on board for future reference.
15) Able to Zoom Out
The ability to zoom out and look at the bigger picture is a sure sign of a strong personality. It’s very easy in the modern day to get caught up in a narrow-minded outlook, and with online echo chambers, this becomes even worse.
Looking at a situation objectively from different perspectives and considering the big picture can be invaluable when it comes to management and dealing with other people.
A situation is more than just the sum of its parts, and being able to see those parts together shows strong cognitive skills.
16) Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Living life inside of your comfort zone can prohibit growth. Staying afraid of taking risks is a sure-fire way to stagnate in the game of life.
Dominant people with strong personalities are willing to venture outside what they are comfortable and familiar with, as they’re aware that this is where the greatest levels of growth can occur.
17) Carving your own path
It’s key to remember that we are all on our own path in life, and no two journeys are the same. Just because something works for someone, doesn’t mean that it’ll happen for you in the same way.
A strong personality will be able to determine their own path by making tough decisions – though, how we deal with the consequences may be the ultimate test of a truly strong character.
Conclusion
There are many different strong personality traits that can indicate character. Amongst the fine details, you’ll noticed that a lot of these characteristics are loosely linked with each other, and pursuing one can have a positive effect on your entire nature and outlook on life.
As long as you stay confident and continue to approach life open-mindedly with kindness and ambition, you’ll become not just a strong character, but also a good person too.
