What makes you truly great? HARVARD VERITAS
EVERYONE wants to be great; we like it when people describe us as “great.” What makes us truly great? Our greatness lies in our
Character is defined as the ethical, moral side of our personality, the level of virtue in our personality. In our day and time, the collective character of society is becoming eroded, and a person’s individual character is losing societal value. Instead, many people live their lives out of a sense of “the ends justifying the means.” If lying works, then lie. If cheating gives you the results you want, then cheat. There is no higher sense of values. People without character feel that they are not accountable to any higher power such as “truth.” It’s simply all about what you can get away with and not get caught, while benefiting yourself to the maximum. We see this behavior in all strata of society, from unlearned children manipulating their parents, all the way to political and even so- called religious leaders fleecing their people.
Those of high character not only speak the truth, but they
the truth as a “higher power” from which they base their actions and lives. There are in fact many benefits to high character which often get overlooked in a value system which is greed- based and shortsighted.
1. Manifestation of character brings us peace in the inner sanctum of our beings as we act consistent to our values and virtues. Those who lie and manifest impaired character are eventually fraught with inner turmoil from the consequences of their wrong decisions and actions. It catches up with them, and if there is any moral fiber there, it gnaws away at their conscience.
2. Character helps us to make the right decisions, spawning right actions, then producing the best results — from germination to fruitfulness — over the course of time. Some decisions bring us immediate, short- lived benefits, based purely upon what feels good at the time… then other decisions which benefit us in the long term, which might not tickle our present emotions. Right decisions and right actions aren’t necessarily the “feel- good” things to do, but we can intuit and reason through when we are doing the right thing.
3. Character is what enables society to function in a constructive, harmonious, and productive way, creating win- win situations for
that “it’s all about me and what’s good for me,” even at the expense of others. This attitude produces dysfunction in families, schools, workplaces, churches and society. When we put on a mindset of love and consideration, then society grows into a thriving, wholesome, vibrant, live-giving place. Lack of character in leaders and citizenry gives rise to tyranny, oppression, crime, people feeling like prisoners, lack of freedom, societal decay, and, consequently, unhappiness.
Mahatma Gandhi is known to have said, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it – always.”
What truly makes us great both as individuals and as a people is not the money we have, good looks, material possessions, career tracks or even status in life. Greatness is measured by our character and capacity to follow through on our virtues to act and speak with integrity, authenticity, love, strength, courage, and a high esteem for what is right and true.
Character is the greatest asset that we have as human beings. We can teach our children character in our homes and schools; we can encourage and foster good character among family and friends; and we can be examples of sound and solid character— a rare thing to find these days! As we allow character to be the bedrock of our greatness, we see that not only does character matter, but it might very well be the only thing that matters.