Character Concepts & Supportive Web Sites
"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." John Luther
“None is born with character! However, we are born with an aptitude for character. You might say it this way: each person has a clean slate when
they come into the world. THE SLATE MUST AND WILL BE WRITTEN ON BY SOMEBODY! I am trying to get to every child to write on that slate the six
pillars of character.” Dr. Nat Cooper (Website: Character Counts)
Virtue and Character - Why Study?
Imagine driving a car. If the steering was misaligned and continued
to pull you to the left or the right, or otherwise did not respond properly, then it would become a priority to get it fixed.
Your Character is far more valuable and useful to you than a car or other material object. It is
natural and logical to direct some of your time, energy and attention towards the contemplation of your Character.
It is a principle of life that the more we study
a subject the greater our knowledge and control of it grows. Let us then study
Character which is at the root of all the world's problems and their solutions.
All your thoughts, speech and actions (which greatly effect your circumstances)
arise from the quality of your personality. Almost all personalities contain
flaws and are "lobsided" to some degree. By lobsided I mean that some qualities
are over extended whilst others are stunted resulting in vices such as greed,
cowardice and dishonesty etc.
Understanding and reclaiming natural Virtue is at the
heart of genuine self improvement. From now on, every time that you read an article about self
improvement and personal success see it in the light of the Virtues. You will find that many,
in effect, are describing various virtues such as bravery, persistance, spontaneity and patience etc.
When you appreciate this you will gain a valuable overview of the whole subject of self improvement.
A deep curiosity and love for the virtues will awaken. As your love and acceptence increases for the
forgotten and repressed aspects of your Character they will re-integrate with you and again become
available for your use.
In terms of time and energy it is much more "cost effective" (and more enjoyable)
to increase your virtue than to try and force a behavior change in yourself.
The increased virtue will naturally beneficially influence a wide range of your
behaviors. Some negative habits will disappear by themselves without the need
for conscious effort.
Dedicate a notebook to your study of the virtues. Write a list of as many virtues
and vices as you can and explore how they are related to each other. You may be
surprised to discover a universal pattern in them. Keep a record of the questions
you have about the virtues and the insights that you gain from exploring those questions.
What assumptions have you been holding about Character and the Virtues? Maybe some of your
assumptions have been holding you back. Do not accept negative, self limiting beliefs from
others who may have made absolutely no study of the subject. Instead find out for yourself
with gentle persistance and a genuine open minded curiosity. Some claim that there is a limit
to character improvement and so then make no effort to improve. If you believe that there is
a limit then first reach it and then look again. You may find that the limits, which seemed so
solid from a distance, melt away as you approach them.
By focusing your attention on positive qualities you will be raising up your outlook on life and
you will find that your Character also raises up to greater levels of harmony. Examine your personality
as if for the first time, try and look into deeper layers of yourself. The Light of your attention will
illuminate and bring to the surface many hidden treasures from within your nature.
Great Websites on Character Development
Lindon Character Connection - ( Building Better Families ) - (http://www.lindoncharacterconnection.com/)
Lots of materials on different Character themes
written as PDF files for downloading. You will nearly find six
years of character traits / themes to choose from for help your students
or children learn a character traits.
Character Counts - (http://www.charactercenter.com/site/)
This website is written to help our youth to learn about character. Lots of wonderful information concerning how to developing character and what character is. Links
to nearly six years worth of
Character Education Partnership CEP -
(http://www.character.org/site/c.gwKUJhNYJrF/b.993253/k.CB9C/Home.htm)
This program is very well organized and has eleven key principles that make up character. This
is one of the must see websites that teach character.
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