the enviable qualities that I lack

Just a quick list of the things that I'd need to make me a better person:

• to be happy for someone else's success or good fortune
• to recognize worth, beauty, or talent without dwelling upon self-comparisons
• self-discipline, either to overcome deficiencies, develop proficiencies, or merely endure
• enjoyment of physical activity (I'd like to enjoy dancing, and at least not dread exercise)
• functional creativity -- inspiration, intuition, problem-solving
• confident self-esteem, lacking any smugness or arrogance
• the ability to tell a story or a joke
• enjoy people for who they are, not how they affect me

That's all that I can think of for now. I considered "ambition", but it's not worth nearly as much to me. I'd like to be more sympathetic, tolerant, and considerate, but I think my natural inclinations to these things would be more than sufficient, as long I achieved the things stated above. Similarly, I'd like to be inclined to take more risks, but I think that would also follow.

Early on, I eliminated everything superficial or patently selfish. The 'storytelling' entry was on the edge -- it strayed tellingly close to a self-serving desire to have more personal charisma, which is little more than the 'personality version' of wishing that I was more physically attractive. However, being a better storyteller is the single best way to inform and enlighten people without being a pedant or zealot -- that's probably one of the few things that I still appreciate about Jesus (the man or the myth).