The development of character is the great business of life. Your ability to develop a reputation as a person of character and of honor is the highest achievement of social life. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “What you do speaks so loud I cannot hear what you say.
”The person you are today, your innermost character, is the sum total of all your choices and decisions in life to date. Each time you consistently make good choices and decisions, your character is strengthened and self-worth increases. Conversely, each time you compromise your value system by consistently choosing poor choices, your character is weakened.
A person of character possesses a series of virtues or values. These are courage, compassion, generosity, temperance, persistence, and friendliness, among others. But the most important value in determining the depth and strength of your character is integrity.
It is integrity, living in complete truth with yourself and others, that most demonstrates the quality of your character.
In a way, integrity is actually the value that guarantees all other values. The higher your level of integrity, the more honest you are with yourself, the more likely it is you will live consistently with all other values you admire and respect. It takes tremendous self-discipline to become a person of character. It takes considerable willpower to always “do the right thing” in every situation. It takes self-discipline and willpower to resist the temptation to cut corners, to take the easy way, or to act for short-term advantage.
All of life is a test, ultimately proving our character. Wisdom can be developed privately, through study and reflection. But character can only be developed in the give and take of daily life, when forced to choose and decide among alternatives.
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