Is Virtue Worth Pursuing?

What really makes someone a good person? 

Psychologist and neuroscientist Sarah Schnitker studies how traits like patience, courage, and compassion are built through repeated practice in real-life situations. She’s found that virtues grow not from comfort, but from challenge. 

She shares how in one study, for example, people who fasted during Ramadan for spiritual reasons showed lasting increases in self-control weeks later. These moral habits take time and intention to build, but they not only improve our own well-being, they also help strengthen the communities we’re part of.