A Road to Worthy Character
Character is the measure of mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Each of us should focus on our character and not our reputation. Character is who you are, and your reputation is what others think of you. Without character and courage, nothing else lasts.
Let me let you in on a little secret. Life in the end will be measured by significance, not your position, your wealth, or your church position. Significance is defined by your character, relationships, values, virtues and faith, and your score in all that you do in life. We learn more from failure that from success. Failure builds character.
Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of responsibility. Compassion is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that those who are cruel cannot be good, nor can they have goodness of character. Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.
”Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
In the face of dangers that show no mercy, no regard for human life; that did not discriminate by age, race, faith or background, it was ordinary people, swiftly tested, who said, “I’m willing to die right now so that someone else might live.” These are the faces of heroes beyond our measure.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away a person’s initiative and independence. You cannot help others permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. Show strength of character and commitment to others that transcends the personal view.
We all stumble as we pass through this portion of our eternity, and the beauty and meaning of life are in the stumbling – in recognizing the stumbling and trying to become more graceful as the years go by. We are all a product of cultivation. The true self, in this view, is what you have guilt from you’re your nature, not just what you started out with.
Mankind is made up of inconsistencies, and no man acts invariably up to his predominant character. The wisest man sometimes acts weakly, and the weakest sometimes wisely. The difference between a moral person and one of honorable character is that the latter regrets a discretible act, even when it has worked and they have not been caught. Bad company and ill-achieved satisfaction corrupts good character. And when we stumble, a “nagging conscience” requires an honest appraisal of our record and character.
When confronted by someone weaker than themselves, how they respond reflects their ethical quality; whether or not they are a person of honorable character. It’s all about character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. That’s right; you create your own destiny.
Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a person chooses and avoids. Many of us have instincts about right and wrong, about how goodness and character are built, but no clear idea how to build character, no rigorous way to construct our morality. The answer must be to stand against, at least in part, the prevailing winds of culture … to build a personal counterculture.
We can shoot for something higher than happiness. We have an opportunity to take advantage of everyday occasions to build virtue in ourselves and be of service to others. People do get better at living, at least if they are willing to humble themselves and learn.
Character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can’t be ultimately changed. It’s the structure of our bones, the blood that runs through our veins
The wonderful thing about character and integrity, which are intimately related, is that they are one of the few things in life that no one will ever be able to forcefully take away from you. Your choices are your own. Even if someone can take your life, they cannot force you to make a choice that you believe is wrong.
Character is the sum of qualities shown up in a person or group, moral or ethical strength, and the description of a person’s attributes, traits and abilities. Character is who you are. It defines you and guides your actions, hopefully in a positive way.
Look at the choices you have made in your past, and observe how much you have or have not lived by those principles. Don’t waste time feeling regretful or guilty. Remember that .until a person can say deeply and honestly, I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday, that person cannot say, I choose otherwise.
Decide what you must change in your behavior to align your life more closely to what you believe. Be conscious every day of the decisions you make, however big or small, and how close they bring you to being the person you really want to become
No legacy is so rich as character