The one character trait that you need…

Conscientiousness

This week a listener wrote in asking about the importance of being conscientious and should we be developing this trait, does it serve us well.

To be ‘scient’ is to be knowing, aware, knowledgeable or awake. Con means ‘with’. So to be conscientious is to act with awareness or awakeness, in short to be mindful.

“Conscientiousness is the state of being thorough, careful, or vigilant; it implies a desire to do a task well. Conscientiousness is also one trait of the five-factor model of personality, and is manifested in characteristic behaviours such as being efficient, organised, neat, and systematic. It includes such elements as self-discipline, carefulness, thoroughness, self-organisation, deliberation (the tendency to think carefully before acting), and need for achievement.”

Ramji, my teacher, once said to me that a good person is someone who is getting better at ‘it’. The ‘it’ could be anything or any aspect of your personal development. The key ingredient to getting better at whatever is conscientiousness.

For my resource of week I suggested Erkart Toille’s book ‘The Power Of Now‘. Living in the present, living in the now is the mindful manifestation of conscientiousness. To develop the ability to be mindful requires the application of conscientiousness. In doing this it creates a constant and persistent habit.

Remember that a habit is something that you do without the need for willpower or effort. It is something that you just do. To be conscientious, to be mindful, is the ultimate habit, it is the one trait that rules all that you do. When you have developed this habit whatever you do will always be the best it could possibly be, and by definition, every time that you revisit it you will get better and better at it.

If you are conscientious about being a good person in the end you will be pretty amazing.

Be mindful, be conscientious, be happy

Sean x