Character and Sayings Regarding It

What is a character? Is it our everyday behavior? Is it improvable or will it always be the same?

The dictionary defines it as being "The inherent complex of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions".

The actions and reactions of one’s mind will sooner or later be shown in that person’s actions and we see the ultimate fruit: the actions. These actions and reactions repeated as often as the situation occurs, will soon become a habit and in the end leading to a certain type of character. The character brings with it a destiny.

Therefore, all starts in the brain. Just like a baby to reach the nine months of pregnancy and to be given birth to, it first has to be conceived. The same way, the action has to be firstly conceived in the brain and only when this "brain conception" takes place, it is just then when the action will be turned into a certain behavior, an obvious deed. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it: "A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshiping we are becoming."

So, be careful what you conceive in your mind, because you will sooner or later "give birth" to it ! Once conceived, it will grow! If you want to ask for an "abortion" of that thought ask God, He will help you!

Below there are some sayings and proverbs about character to inspire you:

"If you want to be thought of as a solid, reliable pillar of your community when you’re 50, you can’t be an irresponsible, corner-cutting exploiter at 25.…You determine your reputation by deciding who and what you are and by keeping that lofty vision of yourself in mind, even when you’re having a rip-roaring good time." William Raspberry Journalist

"It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue." Sam Adams

"There never was a good knife made of bad steel." Benj:min Franklin

"You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one." James A. Froude

"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don’t know what to do." John Holt

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein

"Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it, piece by piece - by thought, choice, courage, and determination." H. Jackson Brown

"A woman of virtue is a crown to her husband; but she whose behavior is a cause of shame is like a wasting disease in his bones." King Solomon

"It is virtue, virtue, which both creates and preserves friendship. On it depends harmony of interest, permanence, fidelity." Cicero

"Who may make discovery of a woman of virtue? For her price is much higher than jewels." King Solomon

"What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him." Victor Frankl

"The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back." Abigail Van Buren

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." Eleanor Roosevelt

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved." Helen Keller

"Judge of your natural character by what you do in your dreams." Ralph Waldo Emerson

We want to become people of noble character? We than have to seek for the company of such people: that who walks with the wise, becomes wise.