Word-Of-the-Week #1019: Character
February 15, 2024 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #1019: Character
Character – attributes that determine a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions.
Are you aware of what your best character traits are? Is there someone that you admire?
Steve Strauss, author of STEVE’S 3-MINUTE COACHING, once again has great insight to share.
Great Question: Character Trait?
(Great questions lead to great answers; weak questions, weak ones.)
“What do I consider to be my best character trait?”
Coaching Point: Very few people are introspective enough to ask this Great Question of themselves. Fewer still have a clear answer. Those who do have a distinct advantage in life over those who don’t.
Socrates pointed out the benefits of “Know thyself.” More to the point is the downside of not knowing what you’re made of.
Would anyone expect a good and consistent outcome from cooking a dish without a recipe? Or painting a painting in the dark? Or raising fully functioning children without teaching them some core values for life success? (Well, sadly, yes to that one.)
What keeps us from being willing, eager even, to discern our best character trait? And that is ‘discern’ not create. By the time we look inward our life formula is pretty well set. Rarely does someone later in adulthood create a new character trait from whole cloth.
How about this? Take a considered look at people you admire. Whether you know them up close and personally or at a distance. The key feeling is ‘admire.’
What character traits do they exhibit? Not just talk about, exhibit. Which of those traits float to the top of your list? If you admire it, it probably already exists in you.
Which one is it? Which is your best character trait?
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This week’s focus is about character traits. Of all the people that you admire how many of them have the same character traits? Have you ever thought about how many of those traits you have too?
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Word Of the Week #48: Character
April 22, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #48: Character
Character: a composite of good moral qualities blended with high ethics.
Are you fortunate enough to have someone in your life that has character? Do you know someone who might lack character?
Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” — Former Congressman J.C. Watts
My #1 in Character
When it comes down to it, I believe our character and integrity is the most important asset we have. It is our guiding force. When in doubt, always ask yourself this, “If someone did to me what I am about to do to them, would it be okay?”
This week focus on doing what is right, moral and ethical. Would your co-workers and family members describe you as being someone with good character?
Reader Responses
“Awesome stuff Susan,thanks again for another weeks interesting word! Yes, I have several people in my life that HAVE character….and one in particular who’s character I can never truly trust… and both are worlds’ apart! Their is a biblical verse that talks about …”our trials, builds chararcter which creates perserverence…… good stuff to meditate over!” — Cathie Capolino
“I just returned from a few days in Pentwater, Michigan, with Kristen and Erin. The days away in a secluded area surrounded by large stands of trees and a beautiful lake were badly needed. As for character, I have always let my conscience be my guide. In your note you mentioned the importance of thinking about how I would feel if someone were to do something or say something about me that was not true or exaggerated. In everything that I have written in my life, including my two books, I have made sure that I checked and double-checked information before publishing it. If I could not collaborate information that I had with at least one source, I would not use it. I have been fortunate that people have told me things in confidence over the years due to trust that had built up over the years. I have learned from hard experience, that once a trust is broken it takes a long time to rebuild, at least as long as it took to build it. In some cases it takes a number of years. Similarly, character is built during a person’s lifetime, it is not a birthright. The experiences we have in our relationships help us build that character. Every day I try to do the best that I can. I do believe in what goes around comes around. So, if I can treat people the way that I would like to be treated, great.” — Joe Moran
“Very true…my Supervisor/Manager once told me that if he heard something that someone said that described actions or behavior of mine that was rude or inappropriate of me he would tell them that this is out of character for Charlie.” — Charles Rich