Few days back, I have received so many inquiries of one of my relative, do you know him?, how is he? and various other questions, but the point of epicenter was somewhere, and she might have casually asked someone, but it caught like wildfire, and in their over enthusiasm they tried to dig the character of that person(my relative) the echoes are still vibrating in the facebook, and he felt so bad that now he is contemplating to leave his present job and settle abroad….I am very sad I will miss him because he was back only 6 month back from US. Someone asked me about his Character, for me Character and responsibility are the two side of the same coin. Some decisions are easy to make, others are more complicated. When it's a choice between right and wrong, we don't need to weigh the pros and cons. Choosing to do the right thing is an act of self-respect and responsible decision making.
Modern civilisation has developed as a result and expression of man’s evolution as a mental being. In the process, the physical and rational mind of humanity has become a powerful instrument for the observation and comprehension of material phenomena codified as the various branches of physical and biological science. But this unprecedented advancement in the material realm has not been accompanied by a corresponding growth in knowledge of human psychology and the more general field of life events. In fact it seems that with the growth of these mental faculties, man has for a time lost an earlier capacity to see and know life directly through his own vital being. Most scientists approach psychology as a branch of biological science which in effect delegates man to the same treatment as his non-mental ancestors in the animal kingdom. Where psychologists venture beyond these physical limits, they are always on precarious ground and most often end in constructing mental theories with little relevance to living realities. When it comes to a science of life itself, as opposed to a science of matter and material forms of life, science has simply refused to address the topic and has attempted to dismiss it by the premise that life movements are a combination of natural physical determinis and chance events with no underlying principle of order or harmony.
There is an old saying “Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It's not hard. Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking.” The saying is very true because most of us try to develop personality, Developing talent without developing character is a dead end. It won’t take people where they want to go. The lives of people who are long on talent but short on character always get out of balance. A joint study conducted by Korn/Ferry International and the UCLA Graduate School of Management asked 1,300 senior executives to identify the top trait needed to enhance a business executive’s effectiveness. Coming in first was integrity. In second place was concern for results, with responsibility third. What’s true for the boardroom is also true in the classroom, living room, soup kitchen, or gym. If you want your talent to take you far, you need to protect that talent with integrity.
The final component in strong character is integrity, which is an alignment of values, thoughts, feelings, and actions. People who possess the consistency that comes with strong integrity can be very compelling. In his book American Scandal, Pat Williams tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi’s trip to England to speak before Parliament. The British government had opposed Indian independence, and Gandhi, one of its most vocal proponents, had often been threatened, arrested, and jailed as a result. Gandhi spoke eloquently and passionately for nearly two hours, after which the packed hall gave him a standing ovation.
Afterward, a reporter asked Gandhi’s assistant, Mahadev Desai, how the Indian statesman had been able to deliver such a speech without any notes. “You don’t understand Gandhi,” Desai responded. “You see, what he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. What he says is what he does. What Gandhi feels, what he thinks, what he says, and what he does are all the same. He does not need notes.” When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and his character is strengthened.
People are like icebergs. There’s much more to them than meets the eye. When you look at an iceberg, only about 15 percent is visible—that’s talent. The rest—their character—is below the surface, hidden. It’s what they think and never share with others. It’s what they do when no one is watching them. It’s how they react to terrible traffic and other everyday aggravations. It’s how they handle failure—and success. The greater their talent is, the greater their need is for strong character “below the surface” to sustain them. If they are too “top heavy” with talent, then they are likely to get into trouble with
No one can expect to succeed without strong character below the surface to protect his talent and sustain him during difficult times. Character holds us steady, no matter how rough the storm becomes. “Character is the pedestal that determines how much weight a person can sustain. If your character is the size of- a tooth pick, you can only sustain a postage stamp. If your character is as thick as as a column, you can sustain a roof”
Character is just like a wall we build all around us, which protects us from the external negative energy. A person with good character skills would never find it hard to adjust with others because they know and would always do the right thing, and someday you would be able to win the hearts of the people. For example, throughout you’ve been a good student and one day your teacher gets you in brawl with another student although it’s not your fault. But the teacher might not punish you, knowing that you are a good child, and you don’t deviate from your path of doing the right thing. Character is not what we only we can feel and know, but others also know your character and the actual person behind you. A good character would always save you and no matter what even when once you’re not happy being always right and not doing tempting things, later on you would see for yourself the fruits it bore you. You would never be punished for what you haven't done, and if your character and inner self is pure.
Character is simply our essence. So in another sense we can say that Character protects our life.
##This is actually an essay I have written on Character based on true incident of the first part.
Modern civilisation has developed as a result and expression of man’s evolution as a mental being. In the process, the physical and rational mind of humanity has become a powerful instrument for the observation and comprehension of material phenomena codified as the various branches of physical and biological science. But this unprecedented advancement in the material realm has not been accompanied by a corresponding growth in knowledge of human psychology and the more general field of life events. In fact it seems that with the growth of these mental faculties, man has for a time lost an earlier capacity to see and know life directly through his own vital being. Most scientists approach psychology as a branch of biological science which in effect delegates man to the same treatment as his non-mental ancestors in the animal kingdom. Where psychologists venture beyond these physical limits, they are always on precarious ground and most often end in constructing mental theories with little relevance to living realities. When it comes to a science of life itself, as opposed to a science of matter and material forms of life, science has simply refused to address the topic and has attempted to dismiss it by the premise that life movements are a combination of natural physical determinis and chance events with no underlying principle of order or harmony.
There is an old saying “Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It's not hard. Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking.” The saying is very true because most of us try to develop personality, Developing talent without developing character is a dead end. It won’t take people where they want to go. The lives of people who are long on talent but short on character always get out of balance. A joint study conducted by Korn/Ferry International and the UCLA Graduate School of Management asked 1,300 senior executives to identify the top trait needed to enhance a business executive’s effectiveness. Coming in first was integrity. In second place was concern for results, with responsibility third. What’s true for the boardroom is also true in the classroom, living room, soup kitchen, or gym. If you want your talent to take you far, you need to protect that talent with integrity.
The final component in strong character is integrity, which is an alignment of values, thoughts, feelings, and actions. People who possess the consistency that comes with strong integrity can be very compelling. In his book American Scandal, Pat Williams tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi’s trip to England to speak before Parliament. The British government had opposed Indian independence, and Gandhi, one of its most vocal proponents, had often been threatened, arrested, and jailed as a result. Gandhi spoke eloquently and passionately for nearly two hours, after which the packed hall gave him a standing ovation.
Afterward, a reporter asked Gandhi’s assistant, Mahadev Desai, how the Indian statesman had been able to deliver such a speech without any notes. “You don’t understand Gandhi,” Desai responded. “You see, what he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. What he says is what he does. What Gandhi feels, what he thinks, what he says, and what he does are all the same. He does not need notes.” When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and his character is strengthened.
People are like icebergs. There’s much more to them than meets the eye. When you look at an iceberg, only about 15 percent is visible—that’s talent. The rest—their character—is below the surface, hidden. It’s what they think and never share with others. It’s what they do when no one is watching them. It’s how they react to terrible traffic and other everyday aggravations. It’s how they handle failure—and success. The greater their talent is, the greater their need is for strong character “below the surface” to sustain them. If they are too “top heavy” with talent, then they are likely to get into trouble with
No one can expect to succeed without strong character below the surface to protect his talent and sustain him during difficult times. Character holds us steady, no matter how rough the storm becomes. “Character is the pedestal that determines how much weight a person can sustain. If your character is the size of- a tooth pick, you can only sustain a postage stamp. If your character is as thick as as a column, you can sustain a roof”
Character is just like a wall we build all around us, which protects us from the external negative energy. A person with good character skills would never find it hard to adjust with others because they know and would always do the right thing, and someday you would be able to win the hearts of the people. For example, throughout you’ve been a good student and one day your teacher gets you in brawl with another student although it’s not your fault. But the teacher might not punish you, knowing that you are a good child, and you don’t deviate from your path of doing the right thing. Character is not what we only we can feel and know, but others also know your character and the actual person behind you. A good character would always save you and no matter what even when once you’re not happy being always right and not doing tempting things, later on you would see for yourself the fruits it bore you. You would never be punished for what you haven't done, and if your character and inner self is pure.
Character is simply our essence. So in another sense we can say that Character protects our life.
##This is actually an essay I have written on Character based on true incident of the first part.
