Character Is Critical to Your Success

Character Is Critical to YourSuccess

Your character comprises the mental and moral qualities distinctive to your unique personality. And winners are known by the mental and moral qualities they exhibit every day in any given situation.

            What is moral character, and do we need it to live a healthy and prosperous life? Moral character can be defined as a set of qualities that makes somebody distinctive, especially as it relates to her state of mind and how she expresses her feelings. What comes to mind are qualities such as integrity, courage, and a conscience of what’s right and wrong. It's innate qualities like these that attract others. So, when you set out to accomplish a goal, your moral compass is almost as critical in guiding you toward success as your outlook.  Your moral character also shapes your thinking and informs your attitude. It is your public reputation—shaped by how honest of a person others view you to be—that is on display for others to see, and they will judge you by it. The right attitude will draw the right people to you. So, let’s examine what it means to be poor in spirit.

            To be poor in spirit is to realize that nothing you have is more important than achieving your specific goal. Knowing this, you should be willing to part with anything that may hinder you from achieving your goal. That is why Jesus said, “No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). When you show that you are willing to give up whatever it takes to be successful, it will produce great results. It has been said that your attitude determines your altitude. How you think and feel about yourself and your ability to succeed at whatever you set your mind to will determine how far you’ll go or high you’ll climb the ladder of success.

Attitudes are the established ways of responding to people and situations. Your beliefs or values typically shape your attitude, which is manifested through your behavior. If you take your attitude and apply it toward achieving your goals, nothing will be able to prevent you from reaching your destination. Anything that stops your progress will be deemed a hindrance. Relationships, possessions, and even ideas can all be hindrances if they block your productivity. The most important thing is what you are willing to give up to accomplish your goal. So, you must decide if the thing that prevents you from obtaining what you’re seeking is worth giving up. Is it a relationship that’s stifling your growth? Is a dead-end job that you’ve long outgrown? Is it a bad case of self-doubt? Is it a non-supportive friend? If you find that you’re having trouble achieving a goal, what is standing in your way? When you identify the answer, you must make an important, life-changing decision of what is more important to you: your goals or the thing that hinders you.

            Attitudes will drive your behavior! Even your body language is a result of your mental attitude. Whatever you think and meditate on will eventually show up in your posture, your facial expression, your walk, and so on. When choosing your attitude, you emit that mood and send out a message that everyone around you pretty much understands, consciously or unconsciously. In other words, your attitude is your first line of exposure to a person.

You should live by a code of ethics and a standard of conduct, especially if you want to live a healthy and prosperous life. You must keep in mind that attitudes shaped by moral character contrast positive values with negative values. To achieve success, you must express a positive attitude overall and not in isolation.

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