Have you ever come to the realization that you weren’t quite the person you wanted to be? Well, I think most of us have, unless you completely lack self awareness which is another problem entirely. The troubling thing about this revelation is the sudden heavy burden of having to make up a lot of ground to get yourself into a healthy place again. That can seem overwhelming but the truth is that we don’t land in this hole over night. We get there one shovel scoop at a time and eventually dig ourselves really deep. You only realize how far you’ve gone when you can no longer see the light of day from the bottom of your pit. Well, its time to climb out of that pit. The reality is that our character is what determines whether or not we are digging or climbing. Develop your character in a healthy way and you’ll be on the upward climb. Develop bad character habits and you’ll continue to dig deeper and deeper. So, let’s take a look at three things that shape your character on a daily basis and how you can use them for a character course correct.
What Are You Consuming?
In the same way that what you eat determines the condition of your physical health, what you intellectually feed on will determine the condition of your mental and emotional health. In other words, if you’re letting bad in, then bad will come out. Make the decision to challenge your thinking and stimulate growth on a weekly basis. Begin listening to a podcast about self leadership and character development. Go buy a book about leadership and start reading it. These are things that will help you to start an upward climb and avoid character pitfalls. Accept the challenge and decide to begin bettering yourself. It’s a benefit to you and those around you.
What Relationships Are You Pursuing?
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Bad company corrupts good character.”? This statement is short but very sweet and full of truth. It’s been said that you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. Think about your relationships right now. Are those top five people in your life better or worse than you? If they aren’t helping you to become better at life, then you inevitably will be come worse at life. If you want to get yourself out of a rut, you need people in your life that are a one, two or three steps ahead of you. You can always be that good person for someone else, but you MUST be spending time with and learning from people that are ahead of you.
What Kind of Habits Have You Developed?
Your daily or weekly habits play a big role in the outcome of your life. If you’ve learned to execute unhealthy habits on a regular basis, you’re not going to find yourself in a place of health down the road. This could be emotional health, physical health or relational health. Pin point what your unhealthy habits are and start working toward replacing them with something healthy. If you push people away when they get too close, book a session with a counselor and learn how to overcome this bad habit. If you tend to isolate yourself and drink too much when you feel stressed, learn to replace that time with a healthier alternative of stress relief. If you have a habit of exploding when you get upset, learn some anger management techniques. The point is that you need to identify the unhealthy habits in your life and take really measurable steps towards correcting that area of your character.
