Cherishing good character

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree." Our character is not just what we try to display for others to see, it is who we are even when no one is watching us. A good character is about doing the right thing as a right in its real ramification.

Character is the accumulation of thoughts, values, words and actions, which become the habits that comprise our character. Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true value of all people and all their work.

Character is said to be "the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual's life which determines his or her response, regardless of circumstances."

The formation of one's character ought to be everyone's topmost priority, as man's character is the reflection of himself; his reputation, the opinion others have formed about him, among other things residing in him.

While one does have control over one's reputation, one's character lies in his hands. So it is more than important to keep one's character bright and clean.

It has been said that character is the foundation for all true success. A person may have money, position, or power, unless he has "good" character he or she is not considered to be truly successful.

We do not often think of character as having such a direct effect on our successes or failures. But when we consider the individual qualities that together make up a person's character we can easily see that it is true. Character does really determine one's successes or failures in many a case.

As the saying goes, "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny," we are, therefore, shaped and fashioned by what we cherish in life.

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. You can even tell what a man is by what he does when he hasn't anything to do.

It is also said that the good man will watch over himself even when he is alone. A person of character thinks right and does right according to core universal values that define the qualities of a good person: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when leveled against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes.

"The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character."

Isabelle Eberhardt