Definitions: (1) valiant in character or deed; brave; bold; daring; (2) robust in body, mind, or spirit; strong; sturdy; (3) resolute; firm; (4) one who is staunchly supportive; steadfast; unwavering; unshakable dependability

Compatible Qualities: self-control, fair, gentle

Quote: The past doesn’t exist except as a memory, a mental story, and though past events aren’t changeable, your stories about them are. You can act now to transform the way you tell the story of your past, ultimately making it a stalwart protector of your future. — Martha Nibley Beck (1962-) American author

Fictional Figure: Philip Faulconbridge, a daring soldier, true as steel to his friends. — William Shakespeare (1564-1616) King John {1623}

Definitions: (1) resistance to fatigue, illness, stress, or difficulty; (2) possessing staying power or endurance

Derivation: Latin, referring to the life-threads spun by the Fates

Compatible Quality: enthusiasm

Quotes:
• Grit, in a word, is stamina. But it’s not just stamina in your effort. It’s also stamina in your direction, stamina in your interests. — Angela Lee Duckworth (1970-) American psychologist
• There is no problem that doesn’t have some underlying need for more optimism, stamina, resilience, and collaboration. — Jane McGonigal (1977-) American author

Definition: full of life; nimble; agile; energetic; active <especially of the aged>

Quote: When you’re an athlete and you play every day and are conditioning yourself every year, the aging is gradual. — Calvin “Cal” Edwin Ripken, Jr. (1960-) American baseball player, 2,632 consecutive games played

Question: If you came in last in the 100-meter dash in the Olympics, would they deign to call you spry?

Definition: courageous; lively; mettlesome; plucky; spirited

Quote: The voting booth joint is a great leveler; the whole neighborhood – rich, poor, old, young, decrepit, and spunky – they all turn out in one day. — David Byrne (1952-) Scottish-American singer/songwriter

Definitions: (1) characterizes one who indulges in a happy diversion <usually with others>; playful; merry; one who enjoys recreation; gamesome; (2) playing fairly and according to the rules; courteous; accepts failure gracefully and victory graciously; (3) possessing the ability to accept jestful teasing with a good sense of humor; (4) fair and generous in one’s behavior or treatment of others, especially in a game or contest

Quotes:
• A good puzzle, it’s a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It’s very clear, and the problem depends just on you. — Erno Rubik (1944-) Hungarian inventor
• The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose. — Ernest “Ernie” Banks (1931–2015) American baseball player

Definitions: (1) possessing an airy spirit providing cheerfulness or courage; (2) lively or spryly animated; brisk; vivacious; light but spirited vigor of manner; buoyant; spirituelle <a refined and witty nature>

Poetry:
True Wit is Nature to advantage dressed
What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed;
Something whose truth convinced at sight we find,
That gives us back the image of our mind.
As shades more sweetly recommend the light,
So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit.
— Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English poet

Definitions: (1) showing a lively and happy gait <with a spring in her step>; (2) having an elastic quality; resilient; flexible; (3) Being filled with the joy and newness of the spring season

Quotes:
• No matter what twists and turns your life offers you, your ability to be adaptable and flexible will help you to stay open to all of the hidden gifts that difficulty may offer. — Mandy Ingber (1968-) American yoga instructor & actress
• To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life. — John Burroughs (1837–1921) American naturalist

Definitions: (1) acting playfully or creatively upon a sudden impulse; (2) not premeditated; not contrived or manipulated; natural; (3) done or resulting from one’s own desire

Too Far: capricious

Saying: Carpe diem (Latin): “Seize the day.”

Quote: Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. — Edward Estlin [e. e.] Cummings (1894-1962) American poet

Comment: Each quality has a default level. But you can change that level by being open to it when it comes up in your life. Consciously supporting it enhances it.

Observation: Automatic versus Spontaneous
Your automatic reactions are put into play immediately without thought. They could be very complex responses or as simple as flight, fight, or freeze. Your habitual reactions have been created genetically over many generations. You can and have modified them somewhat by your conscious actions.
    A spontaneous response could, at the least, be the same as an automatic response. But it also could be much more flexible. As you add a wider range of possible options, you extend your responsiveness.

Definitions: (1) inspiringly valiant; illustrious of heroic imagination; famous; celebrated; distinguished; (2) exceptionally good; very fine; excellent; (3) sumptuously grand <a splendid idea>; imposing

Synonyms: brilliant, glorious, magnificent, beau geste <a splendid gesture>

Quotes:
• The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval. — Denis Waitley (1933-) American motivational speaker
• We had seen God in His splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man. — Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874–1922) Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer; Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, Alfred Mark Lansing {1959}

Inspiration: Says the Lord: ‘I dwell within their own souls as a lamp of wisdom. I am the splendor of the splendid and the virtue of the virtuous.” — Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita [The Song of the Spirit]: 10:36

Color: violet

Definitions: (1) having or showing mettle, courage, vigor, animation, or energy; (2) the spiritualizing influence; the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person; (3) the supreme moral and ethical standard; the motivating, activating, or essential principle influencing a person’s actions <the spirit of helpfulness>; (4) a positive inclination, impulse, or tendency (5) the source of ideals and values; the extraordinary feelings and qualities characterizing one’s inner attitude; qualitative reality; (6) the disposition of firmness or assertiveness
    See also: High-Spirited, Public-Spirited, Spiritual

Too Far: tempestuous

Quote: A spirited mind never stops within itself; it is always aspiring and going beyond its strength. —  Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Seigneur de Montaigne [aka: Michel de Montaigne] (1533–1592) French Renaissance philosopher