STRENGTHEN THE CHARACTER

1. Know what constitutes strength in character. Strength in character

consists of having the qualities that allow you to exercise control over
your instincts and passions,

to

master

yourself,

and

to

resist

the

myriad temptations that constantly confront you. Moreover, strength in

character is freedom from biases and prejudices of the mind, and is about
displaying tolerance, love, and respect for others.
2. Understand why strength of character is important to yourself and
especially to others:
Strength of character allows you to carry out your will freely, while enabling
you to cope with setbacks. It assists you to accomplish your goals in the end.
It allows you to inquire into the causes of ill-fortune, instead of just
complaining about it, as many are inclined to do. It gives you the courage to
admit your own faults, frivolousness, and weaknesses.
It gives you the strength to keep a foothold when the tide turns against you,
and to continue to climb upward in the face of obstacles.
3. Empathize. As the most important way to strengthen your character: show
empathy with others, especially the weaker souls, and love others as yourself.
This may come at some cost, causing you to examine your own motives so
that

you

can

empathize

ungrudgingly. Empathizing differs

from sympathizing in denotation, as empathizing requires you to protect

yourself and engage as needed (walk in and help clear the other person's
pathway); whereas sympathy implies an emotional but passive reaction, such
as listening, looking and mimicking without extending oneself.
4. Seek the truth. Favor reason over pure emotion. The person with a strong
character will examine all the facts using the head, and not be biased/
prejudiced by emotions from the heart. Settle most matters upon reason
alone, and avoid entangling yourself in the chaos of your sensations, realizing
that though there is "no explaining tastes", hunches and attraction, yet
reason should prevail on evidence.

5. Be neither a pessimist nor an optimist, but a leader. A pessimist

complains about the wind, an optimist expects the adverse wind conditions to
improve, but the leader takes action to adjust the sails and ensure that
they're ready to cope whatever the weather.
6. Guard against irrational impulses. Aristotle and Aquinas considered that
there are seven human passions: love and hatred, desire and fear, joy and
sadness, and anger. While good in themselves, these passions can bypass our
intellect and cause us to indulge in the wrong things: eat too much food, fear
things irrationally, or become overwhelmed in sadness or by anger. The
answer is found in always looking before you leap and in practicing good
habits to free yourself from the enslavement of your own passions.
Inordinate, sensual appetites are the marks of a weak character; the ability to
delay (suspend) gratification and practice self control is a sign of strength.
7. Be content with your lot (not imitating). Appreciate your own values and
that which you have. Imagining that the grass is greener somewhere else is a
recipe for lifelong unhappiness; remember that doing so is actually projecting
your assumptions about how others live. It is better to focus on how you live.
8. Be brave enough to take calculated risks. If you shun the battle, you must
forgo the victory, and the joy associated therewith. Neither be cowardly, nor
aloof, nor evade your rightful duties, but be courageous so as to contribute
your part to the progress of humankind.
9. Dismiss external suggestions contrary to the resolution you are fixed
upon.Every individual has his or her interest foremost in mind, whether
consciously or unconsciously. Neither impose your will upon others, nor allow
others to impose their will upon you. Remain aware and accepting that
different people will have different suggestions, and that you cannot please
everyone. Find the right path, and walk therein, neither turn to the right nor
the left. Govern yourself, and never abandon the right path.

10.

Learn to do good and eschew/avoid evil. Seek peace and pursue it

earnestly. Aim not for personal goals that trample on others' needs, but aim
after noble and worthy motives to benefit society as a whole. If you seek
personal gains, you will run into conflicts with others, and, in the end, you will
inevitably fail. If you seek the mutual good, all will benefit, and you will also
find satisfying personal gains as well.
11.

Learn to master your feelings. Avoid letting anything other than

sound reason dictate your decisions in the conduct of everyday life. It might
often be difficult, and at times impossible, to not yield to feelings deep within
your soul, but you can learn to suppress their manifestations, and to
overcome them through relying on common sense and sound judgment.
12.

Be

neither

prodigal,

nor miserly,

but

seek

the middle

ground. The ability to seek the middle ground is the mark of a strong
character capable of resisting extremes.
13.
to

Be calm in all things. Calmness is a state of quietude that enables you

concentrate

and

reassemble

your

divergent

thoughts

and meditate with profit. Contemplation leads to ideas, and ideas lead to
opportunities, and opportunities lead to success. Calmness is a sine qua
non of a strong character. Without calmness, there can be no strength in
character. Without calmness, passion can easily become overheated, turning
into an intense desire and interfering with sound reason. Calmness is not the
foe of feelings, but its regulator, permitting their proper expression.
14.

Focus on the positives in life, and spare little time for the

negatives. A physician once said to a young woman complaining of all sorts

of troubles for which she asked of him a cure: "Don't think of them: it is the
most powerful of all cures." Physical and mental pains can be alleviated by
effort of the will to divert the mind into opposite channels, and exacerbated
by the dwelling upon them.
15.

Oppose fatalism. Each individual is responsible for his or her own

development and fortune. To accept fatalism, that is, to believe that destiny

is somehow immovable, is to discourage yourself from attempting all

initiatives to improve your life and self. Destiny is blind and deaf; it will
neither hear nor regard us. Instead, remember that fixing calamities and
changing destiny for the better are ways to strengthen your character and
improve your lot in life. Work out your happiness; don't wait for someone else
or something else to do it for you because it will never happen unless you
persevere
16.

Have patience -- to enthusiastically set, persist and follow-through on

your goals, short term, intermediate and long term: which is progress
(success). Success is a progress -- not a destination. An individual with a
strong character will not quit when faced with obstacles, but will persevere to
the end and overcome all obstacles. Learn to delay gratifications in life, learn
to wait as part of progressing, and learn that time can be your friend, time to
learn, apply and see growth. It also helps to know which battles are worth it,
and when to let things rest; sometimes letting go is accepting a gift of life,
rather than clinging to a sinking ship.
17.

Conquer all fears. Timidity is a stumbling block to success. Entertain

no superstitions based upon superficial observations, but accept facts based

upon solid reason. Avoid building your foundation upon sand, preferring
instead to build upon a rock. Once you overcome fear, you will have the
strength of character to think, to have resolve, and to act victoriously.
18.

Just as a gardener must remove all the weeds to grow the

crops, so you must likewise dispel from your mind all feeble
thoughts, that act as weeds undermining your strength. Guard against
excessive emotions, and attribute to them their exact significance. Whenever
you

find

yourself

preoccupied

with

some

overwhelming

emotion,

immediately occupy yourself with something else for fifteen minutes, up to an

hour. Many great warriors have lost their lives when they react too brashly to
insults, and go to fight prematurely against their taunters without adequate
preparations, acting merely upon a hot head. Learn to overcome such a
weakness with practice, remembering that anger is a common vice in all
those of weak character.

19.

Exercise coolness, circumspection, discernment, and prudence

inbusiness. Cultivate your mind with logic, and conduct your affairs
accordingly.
20.

Always be truthful in all things and every aspect of life. If you

are dishonest, you are dishonest with yourself, and that is an assault upon
your own character.
21.

Finally, excel wherever you are, and do your best in whatever

you do. Work hard, and shun idleness like the plague. By the same token,
learn to appreciate quality leisure time for its ability to rejuvenate and inspire
you to return to your good deeds.