Tag Archives: personal development
Character Intelligence
Part II of a Four Part Series:
Character is pursuing and developing moral excellence, which leads to self-mastery. Character is a word, which conveys the process of engraving or chiseling and giving a new form to raw material. For instance, skilled workers using the hammer and chisel crafted ancient statues very methodically and patiently; shaping some of the most renowned pieces of art we admire today. Within time an onlooker could see a face or an image emerge from the granite rock. This process is also happens with people. During our childhood we are similar to that marble slab, which over time, through discipline, the right choices and actions, and self-correction a new character emerges in one’s life.
A great example of character comes from one of our Founding Fathers, George Washington. At the young age of sixteen he wrote down a list of life principles to govern his conduct. It is known today as Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, and it consists of 110 principles of conduct he determined to live his life by that ultimately shaped his character. Here’s a sample with my interpretation in brackets:{1}
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Rule #50 – Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any. [Don’t believe dirty gossip about someone without first finding the facts yourself before making a judgment.]
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Rule #82 – Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise. [The first part means don’t commit to something you cannot handle.]
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Rule #101 – Rinse not your mouth in the presence of others. [Don’t spit in front of people.]
