Character is the sum total of the features and traits that form an individual’s nature.
To say a person has a good character or to admire a person’s character does not require perfection. It just means that we think this is a good person worthy of admiration.
No one is born with good character. It’s not an inherited trait and it’s not determined by a noble act.
The society we live in encourages us to develop or invest in our careers. It however does not emphasize the importance of developing our inner strength.
The formation of a person’s character lies in their own hands.
Efforts by parents, teachers, and others to instill these values are very important. They have a great deal of influence on the values a child adopts. But the role of choice in the formation of character should never be underestimated.
Thus, character is both formed and revealed by how we deal with everyday situations as well as extraordinary pressures and temptations. Character is built decision by decision.
The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us like –housekeepers, drivers, waiters, and secretaries — tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important.
How we behave when we think no one is watching or when we believe we will not get caught, accurately portrays our character more than what we say or do in service of our reputations.
This is not saying that we should give up on all our ambitions and desires. We can still hold onto them but during that process, we need to be more attentive about the kind of person that we are becoming.
While pursuing our goals, we must give priority to building a value system and focus on becoming people with self-control and depth.
Good character opens uncommon doors, it determines our success and grants us favor.
Bad character on the other hand can be described as driving a car with a flat tyre. Obviously, movement will be slow and progress will take time.
It is said that If we invest in good habits, we will reap character and if we invest in character we will reap destiny.
Here are few tips on how you can build your character.
- Identify the character flaw.
If you have a specific character flaw, identify it and pray about it. Invest in books, get a coach or attend a workshop that talks about how that character flaw can be eradicated from your life.
- Set daily goals.
Make a commitment to work on yourself daily. Even if you slip up, forgive yourself. Don’t judge yourself too harshly, own up to your error and continue working on yourself. Most importantly learn from the experience.
- Get a role model.
You are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. Based on this, if you aspire to become a person of character, you should hang out more with people who exhibit those qualities. You don’t have to imitate exactly what they do. But simply extract those aspects of their personality that you would like most to emulate.
Each of us has the ability and the potential to develop and strengthen our character because our character defines us.