The Underestimation of Character

What is character? The first definition that popped up on Google was “The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”. I don’t like this definition. Mental qualities? Moral qualities? Too qualitative. Too vague. To me, character is so much more than that. Character is not simply a noun, as all dictionaries would have you believe. It is not simply a word. Character is a concept.  Character is what defines us as people, so how can us, as people, define character?

The challenge is, how do you define a concept that encompasses so much of our identity?  In my view, this concept is best illustrated by words of Charles Swindoll; “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”.

You can be born with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth, but success like the previous generation is not guaranteed. One must learn to live their own way, experience trials and tribulations and build the character in order to take advantage of the resources around them to achieve success. For these people born into excessively affluent families, it is easier for them to become drug addicts and apathetic alcoholics than it is for them to replicate or exceed the success of their parents.

Conversely, a person that is born into poverty is not destined for a life of destitution. There are many factors at play halting the person’s pathway to greatness, but I firmly believe mentality is one’s greatest enemy in these situations. A defeatist self-apologetic mindset will likely result in this person’s children being born into the exact same poverty. However, if the impoverished person  allows their difficulties to nurture courage in the face of adversity, there are no limits.

A person born into poverty will suffer greatly and will face a massive task to turn it around, but Helen Keller’s (She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree – the epitome of a person with character) words apply; “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” The book of Romans in the Bible states very similar sentiments to Keller in that we should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 

I firmly believe that life is a small fraction what circumstances you are in, and a mighty fraction of how you react to it.You can be good person. You can give to the poor. When people ask you what your profession is, you can answer with a broad smile, “philanthropist”. You can be a genuinely “nice guy”, but if you lack character, you can never be great. 

If you lack character, you can never be great. 

To quote a great man by the name of Albert Einstein, “Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” My good friend, Albert, is right. You can be very good at what you do, excellent even. But character is the catalyst that transforms a good skill into a great skill. Character catalyzes the reaction of goodness into greatness. If we want to make a difference in our respective fields in life… If we are ambitious enough to want to make a difference in our country and eventually the world, we won’t do it by simply being “highly skilled cowards”. No, to have any hope of achieving any lofty ambition, character is needed. And character in abundance.

In life, as we progress up the ladder of success, great challenges will arise. As we start achieving our goals, we will encounter stumbling blocks and frequently closed doors. If we are not willing to persevere in these difficult times, we cannot expect to achieve anything. Think of a bad day as a test of character. Think of a bad week as an exam. If you get fired from your job, that is very sad news. But think of it as God preparing you for something greater. 

We need a paradigm shift in our way of thinking... If we start looking at troubled times as exciting times for personal growth, that is when our lives will change exponentially for the better. 

Remember, you have two choices when confronted with difficulties in life; the first is to accept it with a positive attitude as a challenge and a learning experience. The other option is to simply give up and move back to your comfort zone. Comfort zones are great, but there is no room for personal growth in them, and certainly no room to build character.

I want to challenge you, and I want to challenge myself. I am on this journey and I have a long way to go. I implore you to not let your past define you. I implore you to let present and past sufferings spur you on to achieve the improbable. We must remember that life is indeed 90% how we react to circumstances around us, and as such, we determine our own fate with our character. Intentions mean nothing. Achievements mean nothing. It is our character that defines us. 

One day, when you have left this earth, will your legacy be that you were a person of great character?