--- title: Research: How to Be a Better Person in 7 Steps description: Surround yourself with good people canonical: https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-27T04:01:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:32.597Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research og:description: Surround yourself with good people og:url: https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=506&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 506 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: volunteers-construction og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research twitter:description: Surround yourself with good people twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=506&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Tony Robbins: How to be a better person [Watch (HLS stream): Tony Robbins: How to be a better person](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pwTCW5Bo.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2015-03-11. Tony Robbins talks about his 37-year long career as a life coach._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 27, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 27, 2015 4:01 AM UTC * We all want to know how to be a better person. The science can be surprising. First, remember context, context, context. Your context dramatically affects your behavior, [so manipulating it is the easiest, most painless way to change yourself](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be). This is why the religious are [nicer on Sundays](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-religious-people-nicer-on-sundays) and mentioning [God](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-easily-get-strangers-to-be-kinder-to-y) makes people clean up their act. [Thinking about your childhood](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-way-to-quickly-and-easily-make-peo) (seriously, get a [teddy bear](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-teddy-bears-make-you-more-ethical)) and seeing [others do nice things](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-seeing-altruism-make-you-more-altruistic) can make you act more ethically. Our circumstances can make it hard to be objective even when [you really should be](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/in-what-ways-do-judges-with-daughters-vote-di). Across the board, you behave better when you feel you’re being watched, whether it’s [an image of a pair of eyes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-getting-people-to-behave-better-a-matter-o), a [security camera](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-security-cameras-make-us-act-kinder) or a [mirror](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-everyday-object-can-motivate-you-to-work). * Power corrupts so tread lightly when you have authority. Power can lead you to [dehumanize people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-power-make-us-dehumanize-people). It makes you believe [misbehavior is okay](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-the-highest-paid-nba-players-misbehave-mor). It comes in [many forms](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-attractive-people-more-comfortable-with-i). * [Stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-cheat-because-theyre-stressed-out) can make you cheat. Lack of sleep can [make you unethical](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-lack-of-sleep-make-us-unethical) and when faced with moral dilemmas [you usually do what is easy, not necessarily what’s right](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/when-faced-with-moral-dilemmas-do-we-do-what). So learn how to [de-stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-ways-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety). * Ethical people are [happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-ethical-people-happier) and happier people are [better citizens](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-happier-people-better-citizens) — so [get happy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-to-be-happier). * It’s not black and white. Men and women have [different moral values](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-women-and-men-have-different-moral-values) and the sins they admit to [reflect this](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/which-of-the-seven-deadly-sins-do-men-and-wom). (And, no, [women are not more ethical than men](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-women-more-ethical-than-men).) * Sadly, this will not be easy. Bad _is_ [stronger than good](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-bad-truly-stronger-than-good). (And ethics books [get stolen more frequently than other books](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/ethics-books-get-stolen-more-frequently-than).) Full disclosure is not a [free pass](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-full-disclosure-really-address-conflicts). Feeling moral [can lead you to act immorally](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-feeling-moral-lead-you-to-you-act-immoral) and [being ethical can hurt your income.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-being-ethical-hurt-your-income) So force yourself to be better [ahead of time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-a-trick-we-can-use-to-make-sure-we-do-t). * Research also shows little things can make a difference: 1. Play music [with positive lyrics](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-song-lyrics-affect-behavior). 2. [Clean smells](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-smell-that-promotes-good-behavior) and the [odor of cookies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-the-smell-of-cookies-make-us-nicer-to-eac) both make you behave better. 3. Keep the area [warm](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-make-a-gathering-more-social-and). 4. Get [outside in nature](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-quickly-and-easily-become-a-better-per). 5. Read [fiction](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-reading-fiction-make-us-nicer). **Join over 195,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/7-steps-to-being-a-better-person/)**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/"},"headline":"How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research","datePublished":"2015-06-27T04:01:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:32.597Z","description":"Surround yourself with good people","url":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","keywords":["Careers & Workplace","Psychology","Stress","Power"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc87de1386b9fe6fc/698858085f570fa3dab1c230/sb10065025a-008-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"volunteers-construction","caption":"volunteers-construction","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/careers-workplace/","name":"Careers & Workplace"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","name":"How to Be a Better Person: 7 Steps Backed By Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tony Robbins: How to be a better person","description":"Tony Robbins talks about his 37-year long career as a life coach.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pwTCW5Bo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-11T15:52:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pwTCW5Bo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/","duration":"PT1M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3932654/being-better-person-steps/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```