The Basics
- It’s about character, not personality.
- You’re a responsible creator, not an (un)empowered victim.
- Your choices today determine your life tomorrow.
- There is justice in the world.
- Hard work isn’t just a fad.
Quite the Character, Aren’t You?
<1> It’s about character, not personality.
Stephen Covey explains this well, so I’ll just let him do the talking: “…shortly after World War I the basic view of success shifted from the Character Ethic to what we might call the Personality Ethic. Success became more of a function of personality, of public image, or attitudes and behaviors, skills and techniques, that lubricate the processes of human interaction. This Personality Ethic essentially took two paths: one was human and public relations techniques, and the other was positive mental attitude (PMA)” (page 19, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People).
Personality is important, but there is a problem when personality supersedes character. Why? Because the veneer strips away in times of duress, conflict, moments of anxiety or pressure or even great joy, accomplishment, and victory; you see that underneath isn’t a piece of valuable, solid wood, but a cheap, ugly sheet of plywood.
Ew.
Nobody wants to be plywood. You can build lots of stuff with plywood; it’s easy to find, easy to cut; it even bends. My
husband makes skateboard ramps out of it. But if you put too much pressure on a piece of plywood, it breaks. If it’s left out in the elements, it warps. If you bend it too far, it snaps. If you stick a nail in the wrong part, it splits.
Plywood is limited, because it is just shredded up wood and glue. The substance, the long grains of fiber that are present in unfabricated, real wood aren’t there in plywood.
Then there’s real wood, from real trees. Oak. Mahogany. Burdock. Cedar. All with strength that runs from one end to the other. All with distinct traits. Personalities, you might say. Real wood costs a lot
more than plywood (which is, of course, why we use plywood for so much). Real wood costs more because it takes a long time for a tree to grow. And certain trees, the really valuable ones, take longer than other trees. You pay for that time when you buy a piece of furniture crafted from solid oak, or a guitar made out of Bolivian Rosewood.
Character takes time. Character is giving when you don’t have enough to give but you promised you would. Character is being kind even when you are angry. Character is having regard for what is right even when everyone else says it is wrong. Character is firm in times of wavering morals, clear in days of confusing philosophies, empathetic in the stress and anger and push of desperation.
Temperament and personality are part of your package, and you should know about them, know about different types, learn how best to communicate, learn your own personality’s strengths and weaknesses. You should build skills, cultivate a good attitude, and learn techniques to make people comfortable. But you cannot build anything valuable without a steady foundation. Get your footers in place, get your beams up, get your windows framed and your doors hung, then paint the shutters.
Image Credits:
Warped Plywood from Thomas.Tuerke.Net, who has an impressive model railroad blog. I’m not into model railroading, but if I were, I would be hooked. As it is, I like the pictures.
Mahogany tree from Cites.org.