While the Wisdom quadrant attends to the leadership of thoughts and the mind and the Humanity quadrant attends to the leadership of people by focusing on collaborative service, the Courage quadrant attends to leadership of action and results. The three character strengths we develop in this section are Confidence, Boldness and Integrity. When we work on the Courage character strengths, we are becoming aware of a part of our ego that is motivated by power and autonomy. Our interest and attention ...

Being reliable is an essential part of building trust (in fact, “trustworthiness” is a synonym for reliable). It means being dependable and predictable — both for holding fast to commitments and for showing up in the same way in different conditions.

Being authentic is being your true self regardless of whom you’re with. If you change how you behave because you’re trying to please others or seeking approval from others, then you’re not being authentic.

Faithful. Dedicated. Devoted. Trustworthy. These are all synonyms for Loyal. Being loyal to someone is a critical part of building trust — not only in your relationships but also in yourself, because every time you choose to be loyal, you are increasing your self-respect.

Years ago, a friend of mine gave my now ten-year-old son a book called “One Smart Cookie” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. It is a delightful children’s book that defines vocabulary about manners and character by exploring the words by relating them to making cookies.

What is forgiveness? Often, we talk about forgiveness as the absolution of a wrong someone else has done. And yet, forgiveness is really more about us — it is letting go of anger or resentment you feel towards someone whom you perceive has wronged you in some way.

“Show respect for your elders” is something that I heard a lot growing up. It evokes a sense of deference, of “yes, sirs” and “no, ma’ams,” but what it really means is to admire or to hold in high esteem. It is treating someone kindly because you honor them as a person.

“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow –this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”  — Elizabeth Gilbert There is no greater gift in a relationship than to accept someone for exactly who they are.

“Patient” comes from the Latin root meaning “to suffer” or “to endure.” Quite appropriate, no? Isn’t it a small bit of suffering when we have to wait? Wait in line, wait on hold, wait for someone to finish their part of work, wait to see results from something we’ve put time and effort into?