A recent study revealed that Americans might not be the most modest people. The poll finds that almost half of Americans believe they are better people than everyone they know.
The survey which was conducted by OnePoll for Behold Retreats involved over 2,000 Americans. Behold retreats is a wellness company specializing in the therapeutic use of plant-based medicine to help personal and spiritual growth.
In the study, 81% of the participants said that they believe humanity is inherently good. Three-quarters believe that they are good people. When asked how they would compare to others, 46% said that they are better than everyone else they know.
Are women bad?
Assessing the study by gender, female participants were less likely to think of themselves as good (67%) than men (86%). Women are also more likely to believe that humanity is inherently bad.
Respondents aged between 25 and 39 were less likely to view themselves as good people (68%). On the other hand, Millennials were the most likely to comment that they didn’t think in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (12%).
Of all the respondents, 72% admit to having judged other people’s behavior. Another 61% are also often worried about being judged by other people. Overall, Americans believe that a good person should be friendly (41%), Giving (45%), and kind (49%). However, when asked about which of these qualities they’d like to possess, 38% said they wished to be successful more than anything else, including happiness (21%).
Jonathan de Potter, the founder of Behold Retreats, says that people still make the mistake of thinking that success is more important than happiness or that external factors cause happiness. He adds that success results from working internally to understand ourselves, identify our unique strengths and abilities, and align ourselves to our purpose.
Not doing their best
Although 62% agreed that everyone has the potential to become a good person, only 43% believe that they’re doing all they can to achieve this. However, 74% said that they have at least made an effort to improve themselves.
