COVID19 Series

• What is character?
• Why are we able to build our own character regardless of our surroundings?
• What is the big deal with having character now?

Hands down we are in the most unprecedented era of our time. It has forced us to either build character or demolish character. We have no other choice. That is the good thing.

Life is full of character-building opportunities. My life is anyway. So what character am I talking about?

What is Character?

• Definition of character is:
• The peculiar qualities, impressed by nature or habit on a person, which distinguish him from others.
• These constitute real character, and the qualities which he is supposed to possess, constitute his estimated character, or reputation.
• Hence, we say, a character is not formed, when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities.
• *http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/character

The key is in the last phrase: a character is not formed, when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities.

So, everyone has character, but everyone does not have a character that is formed. That character is what needs to be formed in this season of Coronavirus Crisis.

Formed Character

Character can be formed in many different ways and situations.

It all starts from self-control. Self-control is just what it says, the ability to control and direct yourself to perform or accomplish a specific task.

A writer has to carefully and deliberately plan out a character to be written about. It is a pretty sloppy theme if the character is a combination of conflicting personalities. Unless you are writing about someone with split personalities, it makes a confusing read for someone else.

Whether or not you want someone to ‘read’ you, you need to develop yourself into a person you admire, you are proud of and that will bring you success.

Most of the everyday process we will not even need to think about. But when we are faced with a dilemma as far reaching and as unsettling as this COVID19 pandemic, then we are forced to face the fact of how we are going to react in a situation and what we want to see ourselves become when all this is over.

This Will Not Last Forever

And it will be over. We just need to glance back at history to know that it will be.

Rash decisions are always bad. I do not mean quick decisions but decisions that are based on – literally – nothing. Air, emotional feelings at the time, etc. will constantly change, so why depend on what you feel at the moment?

How To Build Character

• Self-possessing – Make decisions – the determination that no one else can decide for another person. Shows that each individual has an identity and an intrinsic value. This is evident in a person’s life and needs no proof or reason to be. Each person is conscious of himself first above all others. Example: My babies definitely let me know their minds without any difficulty.
• Self-governing – Control the mind. Considering in each individual mind, the power to direct; control; regulate by inner laws or authority; manage; influence; restrain. All these powers are permanently natural to being a human being.
• Self-determining – Direct the will. Ending (finite); deciding; fixing; settling; resolving; limiting; directing. The human mind has absolute authority and ability to reason and make decisions that are specific to the individual. That is why there is no persons totally alike. As an example, my son can look like his father but have a completely different character and personality because of the self-determining quality of his make-up.

How to Develop Character:

1. Learn about your world and all the sides to an argument to find what you really believe. That belief may change later, but as of now you will know how to run your life. But base your learning on truth, Aristotle says in his Nicomachean Ethics to “look for the higher good for all.” To me that is a little ambiguous and subjective. But it takes a long time to understand exactly who you are and to be true to that.
2. Unbiased learning. If you learn all about the negative side of things, you will be biased toward negative. Learn a balance for what you believe, but you do not have to compromise what you believe to compensate what someone else believes. We are not about subjective here, but we are about truth.
3. Understand others’ views and adopt your own based on the facts you found. Seeing and understanding someone’s view does not indicate or suppose that you believe that way. A person with a mental disability may have a perception not based on reality because he has not believed the truth about the situation. That does not mean you need to discount what is said, just keep it in perspective.

Avoid Being Who You Are Not

1. INDIVIDUALITY. I love saying that word. It means to avoid being who you are not. Most people do not like something about themselves. Evaluate what you are basing that dislike on. Is it on what others have said or what you think others want? Or is it in truth something that you feel you need to change. Daughters – are you trying to be like your moms (or unlike them)? Sons – do you have a hero you are trying to be? Whatever season of life you are in – what do you need to do to be able to enjoy yourself fully?
2. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT – The external factor of character is having a good education. You need self-control to get through any learning academics and the result is positive.
3. REDUCED STRESS – A stable social environment provides contentment. If you are stable inside, your world will be stable, that’s essential character building.
4. JOB SATISFACTION – Who does not want financial security through having a job environment that energizes. When you are satisfied at work, the rest of your life will be easier to handle. This requires a lot of hard, continuous work.
5. PURPOSE IN LIFE – Character determines the foundation for the inner development of a satisfied, happy, and successful life. You are living in reality, you are doing your best, you are living your life. The best of best! The greatest indicator that you have a fulfilled, satisfied life is to give it to others! Enjoy!

*Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4434789/ , http://webstersdictionary1828.com/ , https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341515/ – Peterson C. (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.