Society has, for much of its existence, from the roaming tribes of cavemen, up to the modern-day tech giants of Instagram and Facebook, focused on the exterior attributes. Physical appearance, exorbitant wealth, luxurious vacations, large groups of friends, these are things everyone tells you that are important. And while they’re not wrong, they’ve overexaggerated the important part to where the original point is long forgotten. Everyone has tried to drown out the inner voice, the guiding voice, one of the most important parts of a man’s life. His character.
What is Character?
Character is how you think, how you act, what you believe. It’s not far removed from one’s philosophy, but even more inward focused. It’s what determines your conscience, it’s what you default to when you don’t know what to do. And sadly, it’s horrifically underdeveloped in so many modern men.
The Romans called it Honor, and chased it endlessly, making it the guiding force of their lives. Christians call it Virtue, and prized it above everything else. Two of the most influential societies in history, both who have written endless pages about Character, how to develop it, how to refine it, how to pass it on to your children, and we’ve paid it barely any attention once a child reaches their preteens.
Why do we need Good Character?
It should be obvious, but you cannot be a good person, a good man, without good character. But it goes even farther than that. The development of the mental state is inextricably linked to the development of the spiritual, and the physical. A good man develops all three of these in concert, if not all at once. A keen mind cannot inhabit a weak body with a poor spirit, and a strong body cannot hold a feeble mind with a lacking spirit. Character develops all three. It pushes you to see the world in new ways, to understand more of the hidden currents that move our souls, and encourages us to go that little bit farther when we think we can’t. Character, it could be said, forms the cornerstone of what we need in our pursuit of being greater men for our selves, our families, and our communities.
How do I develop Better Character?
Smarter men than me have written reams and reams on that, and it’s something that I could spend the rest of my life trying to distill, and that’s just what I’ve read and understood so far. I will share what I’ve learned, but the road to improving yourself is lifelong, and we are all just beginning on such a journey.
