I was recently asked by a couple people for permission to use my name for a character reference. As I contemplated the aspects of character I admire in one of those people, I decided to look up a list of attributes in order to help me narrow down their most dominant strengths. The internet did not disappoint; I found many lists of good character qualities.
This sparked an interest to dig a bit deeper and I found myself being reminded of the importance of having a strong character. Not only are the benefits of having a good reputation and a strong character lifelong, they take a lifetime to hone and perfect them. We can never stop improving our character.
When we are of reputable character, we reap the benefits of the choices we make. One of those benefits is that others will respect and trust us. Our influence grows. The foundation of our relationships is strong and it encourages health and happiness in those connections. We experience greater success in our lives in our work and play, which in turn, also builds our self-esteem and confidence. Also, during this time of uncertainty, it is reassuring to know it helps to sustain us in during difficulties. As a parent, I’m challenged to renew my thinking about good character traits and to be purposeful to continue to not only teach them to my children but also increase in expanding them in my own life.
The first step to improving our character qualities is to determine what is most important in terms of principles we want to live our lives by. As we make that list of qualities we’d like to encourage growth in, we can decide to pick a couple to practice for a couple of weeks and then move onto the next ones on our list. I’m going to print off a list to hang on my bathroom mirror.
Next, First Corinthians 15:33 warns, “Bad company corrupts good character.” I can attest to that. Show me the five people who you spend the most time with. You will become like them. Surround yourself with those who emanate the kinds of character traits that are important to you. Moving forward, as I think about some qualities I wish were more evident in my life, I admit I feel a bit hesitant to push myself, yet no risk equals no reward. We need to be stretched and reach toward high standards. Even though we may experience setbacks and maybe even failures (I understand that in my weightloss journey!), our confidence builds and we begin to develop strong muscles of confidence and reap the realization of our goals.
As we learn more about ourselves in this process, we will begin to see growth, self-respect and confidence emerge. This is a lifelong endeavor. With each failure or slip-up, we just push the reset button and try again.
As I wrap up, I’m going to include a short list of some character qualities I found on www.liveboldandbloom.com that we may desire to cultivate in our lives: integrity, honesty, loyalty, respectfulness, responsibility, humility, compassion, fairness, forgiveness, authenticity, courageousness, generosity, perseverance, politeness, kindness, loving, optimism, reliability, conscientiousness, self-disciplined, ambitiousness, encouraging, considerateness and thoroughness. Add to this list as you see fit for your life.
My choice of character attributes to cultivate in the next couple weeks are going to be: ambitiousness (spending less time online and more time on maintaining my home) and self-discipline (do weekly cleanses to detoxify my system). How about you?
James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
