6 ways to build a better you!

Accept and love yourself; only then can you radiate positive energy around you. It takes more than just doing things for others to be a good person. Being good is said to mean more than just being kind. Being good has much to do with discovering yourself and your function in society.

In order to be truly good, you have to take into account what goodness means to you. It can mean being kind, understanding, generous, honest, reliable, helpful, unselfish, polite, patient, forgiving, humble and so on.

Here are a few tips to help you on your way towards being a better person:

1. Determine what it means to you personally to be a good person.

Often people think being good simply means doing no harm to others. However, the question is more about what you do than what you don’t. If you are a good person you surely help others, but at the same time, you don’t neglect yourself either.

What is your ideal of a person? List qualities that, according to you, make an ideal person. Then begin living up to these qualities.

Do you look forward to your goodness being returned?

Do you expect your generosity and services to bring something in return?

Are you giving or doing things to win public acclaim or because you truly want to give and help?

You will be a better person if you stop putting on airs and adopt an attitude of generous giving without expecting anything in return.

Goodness is not just external; real goodness comes from the heart. Lay out your own code of conduct and follow it up with what you believe makes you good. This might at times be opposed to what others consider good and they might find fault with you. If you can learn something from them and upgrade yourself, do so; if not, take their opinion for what it is worth.

Mark Twain warns, “Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great.”

2. Choose a role model

With a role model, you have an example of whom to correspond to. What are the qualities you admire in that person? Think of how to apply these qualities in daily life — at home, at work, in creative pursuits, in social relationships, in lifestyle, etc.

Whom do you look up to and why? How are they making the world a better place, and how can you follow suit? Don’t lose sight of them; see how they handle hard questions, painful situations and difficult circumstances, and learn from them.

Read the full article by subscribing to the print magazine or the digital edition.