What Is Character?

Dictionary Definition of Character

One dictionary defines character, in the sense we are considering here, as "the complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person." In another dictionary, character is said to be "the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual's life which determine his or her response regardless of circumstances."

Our Character Is Who We Are

Abraham Lincoln said, "Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree." Our character is not just what we try to display for others to see, it is who we are even when no one is watching. Good character is doing the right thing because it is right to do what is right.

Everyone Has Character

Character transcends race, religion, education, position, age, gender, and personality. People sometimes think of character as something a person either has or doesn't have. They say, "He has character," meaning he has good character. We recognize the truth that everyone has "character" and we distinguish between "good" and "bad" character.

Our Character Determines Our Responses

The definitions above said, character is a "complex of mental and ethical traits" and those traits, or qualities, are "built into an individual's life." It is those qualities, those character traits, that determine a person's response in any given situation.

Character Traits

What are the character qualities, or character traits, that make up a person's character?

How are they be built into a persons life. Can they be changed?

If you and I were to make a list of good "character qualities," or "character traits," our list would probably include such words as honesty, integrity, dependability, loyalty, enthusiasm, etc. And, of course, there are many more that could be added.

The list of character qualities that I like to use is the list identified by the Character Training Institute of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Character Training Institute list breaks "character" down into forty-nine specific, definite, character qualities (click here to view the list) that we can focus on in order to build character into our lives. By breaking character down into its basic elements we are better able to focus on building those qualities into our lives. As we do so, our overall character is improved. Honesty is a good quality, for example, that really consists of several more basic qualities - truthfulness, dependability, diligence, etc. Therefore, when a person works on becoming more honest, he does so by becoming more truthful, more dependable, more diligent, etc.

How does character affect our lives?

It has been said that CHARACTER is the foundation for all true success. A person may have money, position, or power, but unless he has "good" character he or she is not considered to be truly successful.

Some Examples

How My Lack of Attentiveness Damaged My Relationship With My Daughter

There is a more immediate sense, however, in which character affects our lives.  For example, Consider how the character quality of attentiveness affected my life a few days ago.   My daughter, who is away at college, and I were talking on the phone.  She had been telling me about some of the things that were going on in her life and I had been half-way listening but really had my mind on something else.  Then Heather asked me something and my answer made it obvious that I had not been paying attention to what she had been saying.  I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was hurt.  I mentally kicked myself, but it was too late.  The damage had been done.  Heather was gracious, but I knew she felt that I just didn't care enough to really listen to her.  My lack of attentiveness had damaged our relationship - maybe not a lot, this time, but if repeated over and over the cumulative effect could be devastating.

How I Got A Speeding Ticket Because The Deputy Did Not Pay Attention To Details

Here's another, very different, example.  I was driving faster than the speed limit, but not much faster.  Cars were passing me.  As we topped a hill, the drivers of two cars that had been following me saw their opportunity to go around me.  Both of them started around me, but then we all saw the sherriff's car at the bottom of the hill.  One of the cars fell back in behind me.  It was too late, though.  The sherriff's deputy stopped all three of us.  As we pulled to the side of the highway, I heard him say with his bullhorn for us to pull forward as far as we could.  The driver of the car in front of me (the one that had passed me) evidently didn't hear those instructions and did not pull forward as far as she could.  Trying to be obedient, and helpful, I pulled around the car in front of me.  I ended up being in the front of the line.  When the deputy finally got to me to write my speeding ticket, he told me that his radar had clocked me at 79 miles per hour (the speed limit was 55 mph).  I argued with him.  I knew that I had not been going more than 69 mph and I told him so, but to no avail.  It was not until much later that it occurred to me that he had not seen me pull around the car in front of me to a position in the front of the line.  He assumed that since I was in the front position, it was me that he had clocked at the higher speed.  He had not paid attention to the details of which car was going fastest, and I got the ticket that was meant for the other driver.

Another Example

Here is another situation.  My wife commented to me a couple of days ago that she had been in a fast food restaurant near our house and she definitely was not positively impressed.  She said that as she started in she had to walk past one of the employees who was lounging just outside the door smoking a cigarette.  When she got inside, the counter person did not greet her, did not even look at her, and acted irritated that she had come in and interupted her flirting with another of the employees.  During the whole time my wife gave her order, waited for her food, and sat down in the restaurant to eat, the employees carried on their flirtation.  It was very unpleasant for my wife.

As she related this experience to me, I couldn't help but think that the employees had certainly not fulfilled the wishes of the owner of the store.  I'm sure that the owner wants the employees to act responsibly, showing honor and respect for customers and excercising discretion in their actions.  My wife contrasted the experience at this restaurant with her experience at another one where she was greeted enthusiastically and made to feel important.  She said that she would much rather give her business to the restaurant where the employees demonstrated better character.

I'm sure we have all had similar experiences.  I wonder how much business is lost because of experiences like these.  Imagine the potential for a business whose employees demonstrate the character qualities of attentiveness, alertness, creativity, diligence, discretion, enthusiasm, ...

Character Determines Success

We do not often think of character as having such a direct effect on our successes or failures. But when we consider the individual qualities that together make up a person's character, we can easily see that it is true.  Character Really Does Determine Success.

The World Needs Better Character

How does character affect the world around us?

Today’s world faces many difficult problems. Escalating crime, drug and alcohol abuse, workplace violence, gang activity, vandalism, school dropouts, deteriorating work ethics, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, racial tensions, broken families ... The list seems endless.

At their root, all of these problems spring out of the lack, or mis-application, of good character qualities. If we are to find lasting solutions to the problems of our day, we must deal with these roots! We must work to improve our own character, teach good character to our children, and help those around us to improve their character!  Character development is essential to the ongoing success of our society. That is why Character Education is so important. Character is the Key to Success!

Business Needs Good Character

Many business leaders are learning that it is counterproductive to focus only on achievement and profit, without emphasizing the character qualities that for the foundaton of the achievement. A business whose employees are developing greater attentiveness, more alertness, more responsibility, and more diligence will certainly become much more successful. We must think in terms of developing character. Character training is essential for lasting success!

Self Improvement Is Character Improvement

How We Can Improve Our Character

Benjamin Franklin designed for himself a plan for building character that certainly seems to have been successful.  He identified thirteen character qualities that he felt needed to be better developed in his own life and devised a method of focusing his attention on each of those qualities for one week at a time. Thus, during a year's time Mr. Franklin would go through his entire list four times. (Click here to read Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography online for free.)

From Benjamin Franklin's plan we learn the value of focusing our attention on one character quality at a time. During that time we should seek to understand as much as possible about the character quality - what it really is, how it has been illustrated in positive and negative ways in history, how it can be applied to our own life situations. We should also attempt to live our lives as if we fully possessed the character quality upon which we are focusing. We should be aware of how the character quality (or the lack of it) is demonstrated in the lives of those around us and evaluate the results and consequences we see in their lives.

What should we do?

Each of us can, as Benjamin Franklin did, undertake to improve our own character. We can intentionally seek to build good character qualities into our lives and the lives of our family members.  Like Benjamin Franklin, we can study one character quality at a time and apply what we learn in our lives. (One of the best ways to do that is to subscribe to the monthly character bulletins published by Character First!)

We can demonstrate good character on the job and in our community and encourage others to do the same.

We can recognize the vital importance of character to the success of our lives, our businesses, the organizations to which we belong, and to our country and world, and we can seek to influence the part of the world that we touch to become involved in developing better character.

Many resources are available to us. If we will use them, we can make a difference our own lives, in our families and communities,and, ultimately, in our world.

Character Determines Success

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