The topic for today is Character.
I recently had an opportunity to listen to one of my mentors speak on the importance of character and competence. Listening to him made me ruminate about my life, some choices I had made and how to generally improve on myself and I thought it would be important to share this with you. The thing is, self-improvement will remain a constant in our lives. I am sure you have heard the saying, “we learn everyday”, Self-improvement allows for us to learn something positive every day and apply it to our lives to help us become better rounded individuals, for ourselves, our immediate families and society in general.
How does this apply to Character you might ask? Our characters do not come from what we have learnt from the classroom alone.
The dictionary defines Character as one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual another definition is a person’s usual qualities or traits. I like to define character as what you do when no one is looking.
The qualities of character can be developed through a number of influences: family, school, church, community influences, social media, our individual temperament, experiences, and choices. Are you honest, kind, responsible, courteous trustworthy, fair, compassionate, respectful, and involved in the greater good of your family and society? A quote by Thomas B Macaulay accurately captures character: The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.
Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time.
Simply put, as an individual, your character can be described as your set of complexities, your own opinions, and your personalities. You need to take time to nurture growth, development, and relationships. Developing your character is a skill that cannot be taught. It starts from the little things such as being honest about a mistake that was made, sticking to commitments, being prompt to an event, having the ability to say no to an almost irresistible offer that you know you shouldn’t take on, the list goes on.
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. – John Wooden
Like I earlier said, self-improvement is a continuous activity, which means that building ones character remains a continuous exercise. Don’t stay the same, rather be deliberate about being the best version of yourself. What this means is that you when you become focused on building your character you will see yourself evolving, learning from mistakes quickly and overall bringing a lot of value to your life and the lives of those around you.
I should add on a final note that while it is important to build your character, it is also important to maintain it.
Here’s to wishing you a pleasant week ahead as we remain deliberate in our journey to self-improvement.
Lots of Love,
Nkiru
thebigsisterinitiative.com 