Character is what others will see

by Dr. Robert Schiffman

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1890‑1969): The qualities of a great man are "vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing..."

RICHARD REEVES: "Character is a word that seems to define almost all human activity and then some..." "Power is what you do and character is what you are..."

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People like to talk about someone's character. When they do there might be a dozen different shades to their tone.

When this happens, you're defined by a certain set of habits, qualities or attitudes and these form the basis upon which your character is judged. The attributes you have go into the building of your character. When someone describes you, and your character, they might think about the aspects of your personality, your physical appearance, your social habits, your psychological reactions and other people's perception of your strengths. Sometimes peoples perceptions of your character is what gives you  a reputation, whether positive or negative.

You read about and look up to people from history who have made an effort to change their present for a better future. Unfortunately, you may not know them personally. Yet, you know that their personal lives may have been far from perfect, but you continue to look up to them. These people displayed strength of character for, at least, one cause that they put before their own desires. A lesson learned is that greatness of character does not come from power, but from tolerance, intelligence and principle. You see that people with the strongest character are those that are best loved.

One dictionary defines character, as "the complex of mental and ethical traits marking a person." Another says it is "the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual's life which determine his or her response regardless of circumstances." Character is what is displayed for others to see, it is who a person is even when no one is watching. Qualities are built into an individual's life, and qualities, character traits, determine a person's response in any situation.

When you are asked to make a list of character qualities, your list would probably have words like honesty, integrity, dependability, loyalty, enthusiasm, etc., and these would be right. A good quality would be honesty, but honesty has several other qualities ‑‑ truthfulness, diligence, etc. When you break character down further into basic elements, you can focus on building these qualities into your life, then your overall character will be improved.

Benjamin Franklin designed a plan for building character that certainly seems to have been successful. There were 13 character qualities that he felt needed to be better developed in his life and he made a method of focusing his attention on each quality for one week at a time.

Over the course of a year, Mr. Franklin went through his entire list four times. Through this you learn the value of focusing your attention on character quality. You should seek to understand much about character quality ‑‑ what it really is and how it can be applied in your life. You should know how the character quality (or the lack of it) shows in the lives of those around and assess the results and outcome seen in their lives. Let's think about how some of these character qualities might affect your life.

Take the character quality of attentiveness for example. A man and his wife are conversing quickly as they prepare for their day's activities. She says, "Be sure to pick up Amy at school this afternoon on your way home from work. I'll be tied up and won't be able to pick her up."

He says, "sure." But, his mind is already on the important morning meeting coming up and although he acts like he's heard, the truth is it didn't really register. He was not being attentive, with the result that he'll totally forget about what he agreed to do.

His daughter will be left at school until he gets home and realizes his goof. She'll be frightened, his wife will probably be upset and, his own self esteem will suffer. Sometimes you don't think that character has a direct effect on your successes or failures. You must work to improve your own character and help those around you to improve theirs! You should demonstrate good character in your offices, to your patients, in your community and encourage others to do the same.

Remember, the chiropractic profession is based on "The Principle." Let it show through your character. To be the best chiropractor that you can be, your character is of the utmost important and will determine your lasting success.

(Studying under CS Gonstead ignited Dr. Robert Schiffman's passion for chiropractic. The Life University graduate's career accomplishments have won him much recognition, and he is one of the most sought‑after speakers in chiropractic today. Dr. Schiffman ‑‑ founder of the Get the Big Idea Seminars and Schiffman Solution Coaching Program ‑‑ continues to maintain one of the world's largest volume practices. Contact him by calling 877‑251‑0181, or visit online at www.getthebigidea.com.)