Vegeta is easily one of the best characters in Dragon Ball Z. He doesn't mince words — unless someone tries to harm his pride — and lets his fists do the talking more often than not instead. His introduction as a diabolical villain before becoming a proud member of the Z Warriors is an amazing transformation, making him one of the series' fan favorites.
To this day, Vegeta still considers Goku to be his rival. Both Saiyans spar regularly and have had their share of serious battles throughout the series, all of which have happened to be pretty epic in their own right. That being said, Vegeta has certainly humbled himself over the course of the series and realized that his rival has some good qualities he should learn as well.
7 Teamwork
For the longest time, Vegeta preferred to fight his battles on his own and expressed disdain at the idea of having to team up with other fighters to take down a threat. After, Vegeta's ego pretty much prevented him from really relying on anyone else, choosing to enjoy the thrill of battle himself without thinking about others.
However, over time, Vegeta saw Goku and realized that the manner in which he fought side-by-side with other fighters didn't diminish his power as a fighter. As a result, Vegeta slowly became comfortable with the idea of fighting in a team and didn't shy away from any help... although his pride did take a small hit at times whenever he knew that he couldn't win a battle on his own merit.
6 Patience
Vegeta had a bad habit of rushing into things headfirst without really assessing the situation. This is one of the major reasons why he lost to the Androids and had his hand broken in the process too. It was easily one of the biggest flaws of this character that got him in trouble time and time again.
Throughout his time on Earth with Goku, Vegeta realized that assessing a battle is just as important as fighting in one. As a result, he doesn't mind taking a more passive approach in certain battles and observing his opponent... before unleashing a wave of attacks that target all the weaknesses of said opponent.
5 Kindness
Given his status as a prince of one of the most ruthless and battle-hungry races in the entire world, it's easy to see why Vegeta might've been pretty evil in his own right. He destroyed entire planets for trivial reasons and would've killed all the Z Fighters if Goku and Gohan hadn't pulled their weight during this fateful encounter.
However, after understanding Goku's motivations and starting out with his own life on Earth, Vegeta realized the importance of kindness. After all, no man could ever hope to be a good father without having a shred of kindness in his soul.
4 Love
Speaking of family, there's another quality of Goku's that managed to rub off on Vegeta. Of course, to give this credit solely to Goku would be a huge insult to the impact that Bulma and the rest of Vegeta's family had on his life.
It's these attachments that taught Vegeta the true meaning of love — a feeling that was so impactful that Vegeta tries to escape it by wilfully indoctrinating himself with Babidi's magic in an attempt to channel his dark side once again. However, this failed, and Vegeta realized the gravity of his actions and realized that his love for his family would stay with him forever.
3 Respect
For the longest time, Vegeta shared nothing more than hate and disdain for the world around him. His hate for Frieza meant that he never really had the opportunity to respect his opponents or friends, although that changed after he settled into his life on Earth and interacted regularly with Goku.
While he couldn't understand why this lowly Saiyan would harbor such immense respect for the world around him, Vegeta quickly realized that this was a source of strength for Goku. Looking down at an opponent is not an ideal way to approach a battle, and Vegeta understood that harboring respect is an important step to attaining new levels of power.
2 Sacrifice
Before his life on Earth, no sane person would've expected Vegeta to be the kind of person who would sacrifice himself to save his friends and family. However, all of this was shattered when he decided to sacrifice himself in one final act of repentance to defeat Majin Buu once and for all.
It was an amazing moment that showed just how much love Vegeta had for his friends and family. Without Goku's influence, it's possible that Vegeta would've never had what it takes to sacrifice his own life for a good cause!
1 Self-Improvement
There was a time when the only thing on Vegeta's mind was to get as strong as possible so that he could beat Goku into the ground. However, over the course of the series, Vegeta's liking for Goku has evolved into mutual respect, and surpassing his rival is not his primary goal anymore.
Rather, Vegeta's ambitions reside in trying to better himself as an individual and get stronger on his own merit. It's a mentality that is depicted beautifully in Dragon Ball Super, where he manages to unlock a more powerful version of the Super Saiyan Blue form to fight his enemies on his own terms.