BUILDING CHARACTER

Your character is your personality, especially how reliable and honest you are. If someone is of good character, they are reliable and honest. If they are of bad character, they are unreliable and dishonest.

Do what you say you will do.  No matter how small the promise is, no matter to whom the promise is made, strive to keep your word.  If events prevent you from honoring the commitment you made, get back to people to let them know why you cannot fulfill your promise.  Resolve to handle your word as precious currency and watch how your value rises in everyone’s eyes.

Do you treat some people better than you treat others? For example, do you unwittingly complain about a member of your team to other team members? While we can easily slip into such behavior, especially when we are tired and frustrated by the day’s events, consider that this chips away at your integrity and character.

At the end of every week, get in the habit of going over the decisions you made.  Are you proud?  Do your actions reflect positively on you as a person of character?  What could you have done better?  Every action we take, no matter how small, has our character stamp on it.

The easy thing is to sidestep the tough conversation. Take a deep breath and determine how to engage in meaningful conversation that makes a difference in what we say and what happens next. Our character will be stronger if we interact with empathy.

They almost become disposable. Relationships that are damaging physically or psychologically are different. In those, safely leaving is the first step, and these times take strong character as well. Absent the damaging relationships, we need to try hard to make them work. Whether in our homes, neighborhoods, or workplaces, we need to nurture our relationships and find better paths forward.

Be humble in all you say and do. Humility is not permission to be run over.  Quite the opposite.  Humility is knowing we are stronger together than apart. Humility is giving all we have and doing it again.

A quiet strength of character exists in being humble and nice. Build this character strength. Being nice does not mean low expectations. Too often, we want to play to the crowd and say outrageous things to incite or fit into one. Instead, we need to stand out by saying and doing things that are helpful.

We will get knocked down and stepped on. Two things to remember. First, there is an old political adage that says, “What goes around, comes around.” If someone is stepping on us, holding us back, or ignoring us, nature has a way of dealing with this, so focus on what you can do and do so with a strong sense of character. Second, keep getting up and creating what you are meant to do. After all, this is the only way your purpose will take root.

Laziness achieves nothing. Whatever your purpose, you need to do the work. When you do, character will show its strength in purpose.

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Never think or do things that make others feel small. Always pitch in no matter the task. Our hands are meant to be extended in a helpful way; it is why we have arms and elbows! We are designed to do the work, hug each other, and extend a helpful hand.

"How each of us build character may differ. The most important thing is to understand what builds character and then do those things as often as you can. If you want to build a sustainable personal brand, focus on your personal character early and often."