Behind Closed Doors
- L
- Apr 20, 2021
- 2 min read
Who Are You When No One Is Looking?
When you think about this question, you are forced to look inward and really get a good look at who you are. Sometimes when we are around people we put up an act or we present ourselves differently. Maybe to impress people, to show off, or to simply fit in. We do that because either we're told who we are (when we are behind closed doors) is unacceptable so we try to be something we're not, or we were raised in environments and surrounded by people where those behaviors and actions were deemed good and they trickled down in our way of thinking and behaving, leading us to present one thing and do another.
However, there are some people who are the same no matter where you put them. Who they are does not change when their circumstances or environment does. This is having good character. Good character is having traits such as, integrity, honesty, courage, loyalty, fortitude, and other important virtues that promote good behavior.
When no one is looking do you remain honest or have integrity? This is not to say that if you do not have good character you're doomed, because like anything you have to learn and develop. It all depends on whether you want to change your negatives into positives, because no one can want it for you and no one can do it for you. Only you have the power to change you.
A lot of the time character is confused for reputation, if someone has a good reputation we often believe it is followed by good character. Though it is possible, it is not accurate all the time. These are two different things. Reputation is the belief or opinions of others and what they think of you, whereas your character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Abraham Lincoln's explanation was perfect in differentiating the two, character, is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Each and every day you have to be willing to check yourself and make sure your a good person no matter the surrounding or circumstances.
"Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness." - Yousuf Karsh
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