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Today's
quotation:
Character is not something you were born with and
can't change like your fingerprint. In fact,
because you weren't born with it, it is something that
you must take responsibility for creating. I
don't believe that adversity by itself builds
character and I certainly don't think that success
erodes it. Character is built by how you respond
to what happens in your life, whether it's winning
every game or losing every game, getting rich or
dealing with hard times.
Jim
Rohn
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Today's
Meditation:
I'm never
sure about my character. Sometimes I think that I've
developed a pretty decent character and that I'm a
positive influence in my own little worlds, and other
times I can't believe that I do or say or think certain
things that really don't reflect the character that I'd
like to say I have. It seems to be a full-time job
trying to maintain a certain character that is honest,
respectful, compassionate, caring. . . and so many other
things.
How
do I build character? I suppose it's by making
decisions, over and over again. But to me, character
also means having a full set of already-made decisions about
ways that I'll act and react in life. If someone
insults another person, do I call them out or do I let it
slide? If I find a wallet full of money, do I return
it to the owner or help myself to the windfall? I
want such decisions to be automatic-- knowing the right
thing to do, I do it, and thus I define my character.
Am I
going to be always a good loser? How about a good
winner? Am I going to refuse to mock other people,
or make jokes about them, even if I'm in a crowd of people
that find making fun of each other to be perfectly natural
and completely acceptable? My character will help me
to define and decide what's right for me, and what won't
fly under any circumstances.
Our
character helps other people to know how to deal with us,
so it's important that we pay close attention to the
character that we develop from day to day. We need
to know what we're willing to do and what we are not
willing to do-- and why and why not. And often it
helps a lot to already know how we're going to act in
certain situations, and to make sure that our better sides
shine through.
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