DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
According to Mariam's Webster Dictionary, the term "Character was defined as the way someone thinks, feels,and behaves : someone's personality: a set of qualities that are shared by many people in a group, country, etc.
As an individual, everyone has his or her own character that defines who they are i.e an Individual Personality. One begins to wonder why some people do posess good character and some people do posess a very bad and non appealing character.
A good character is a virtue that every single Individual that wants to be great and make an impact in life must crave for. In the process of building up a good character, three major things are involved which are:
- Thought
- Actions
- Habits.
So, you are to guard your Thought with high integrity, knowing that your Thought becomes your Actions, and Actions of yours if not properly checked becomes your Habits, and your Habits forms your Character and your Character defines your Personality.
Character and Reputation
It's possible to have an appealing Reputation or Charisma and at the same time have a very bad character. Reputation or Charisma can be camouflaged or faked but Character can never be camouflaged or faked. The true character of every individual can only be revealed with time. So don't fall for the Charisma of someone but look out for his or her character because that defines his or her personality.
One of the best ways to test an individual's "Character", is by giving such an individual "Power" to do and undo, it's a matter of time before that individual true nature will be revealed because nearly all men can stand adversity. The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. One of the seven Social sins according to Frederick Lewis Donaldson is an individual with high level of Knowledge without good Character.
No wonder Abraham Lincoln made a powerful statement about Character, he said and I quote,
"Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
So quit judging a book (Man) by its cover (Reputation/Charisma) because the contents (Character) might surprise you. Always remember that Good Character paves way for Greatness because "Character" is Everything.
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Original content.