Who I am as a person is determined by the choices I make in life. Courage is a choice. Humility is a choice. Integrity is a choice. Selflessness is a choice. Duty is a choice. Positivity is a choice.
My circumstances may not be in my control, but the choices I make in the midst of those circumstances are. Each time I am faced with a choice, I am either moving closer to the person I want to be or further from it.
It’s Your Choice!
Each time I make a choice, it makes it easier to make that same choice again. That is how our habits are formed - one choice at a time. This is true with habits like drinking, smoking or working out. It is also true with our Habits of Character.
What Are My Choices?
The Habits of Character I create or reinforce are the result of my choices. First the good news! If I have a weak Habit of Character, I can begin to change that by making new choices today! Now the bad news. If I am not choosing to exercise character, I am choosing to be something I would never tell my kids to be.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
-Edmund Burke
I choose Courage, or I choose Cowardice
- If I do not speak up or act because it might hurt me personally….then I am a coward.
- If it is not Courage, then what is it?
I choose Humility, or I choose Arrogance
- If I believe I don’t need to grow or don’t admit mistakes…then I am arrogant.
- If it is not Humility, then what is it?
I choose Integrity, or I choose Hypocrisy
- If I get mad when I am lied to and then tell fibs or white lies….I am a hypocrite.
- If it is not Integrity, then what is it?
I choose Selflessness, or I choose to be Selfish
- If I put my needs in front of others….I am selfish.
- If it is not Selflessness, then what is it?
I choose Duty, or I choose to be Unreliable
- If I only fulfill my commitments when I feel like it….I am unreliable.
- If I do not do my Duty, then what am I?
I choose Positivity, or I choose to be a Joy Sucker
- If I consistently make people feel worse with my complaining….I am a Joy Sucker.
- If it is not Positivity, then what is it?
Who I am is not determined by who I think I am or by whom I wish to be. Who I am is determined by my choices.
To read another blog about our choices click on the following titles:
Cowardice and Courage for Frontline Leaders
Your Attitude is a Choice: Make a Different Choice
The Bottom Line:
When it comes to my character I have a choice. Do I move closer to being the person I want to be, or do I move further from that person?
Few of us believe choosing to be cowardly, arrogant, hypocritical, selfish, unreliable and a joy-sucker is appealing to others. None of us believe that or want to be that person.
In fact, we all believe in the need for Courage, Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty, and Positivity where we work and in our homes. We want our children to display each of these habits.
We can easily point out people around us who need to work on these Habits of Character. It is easy to point out what others need to work on. But what about me?
I have a choice. Do I admit that I need work? Or am going to choose to ignore the cracks in my character (see Arrogance)?
It comes down to a choice. I can choose to start becoming who I want to be and who I want my kids to be. Or I can choose to be moving away from that person and do the thing I tell my kids not to do (see Hypocrite).
It is a choice that will make me or break me.
P.S. These Habits of Character: Courage, Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty and Positivity will be the subject of leadership book my father, General Jim Anderson, and I will be publishing in the 1st quarter of 2016. Stay tuned for more updates.
Question:
Which of these Habits of Character are most critical for you to strengthen?
