by Ann Stewart Porter

Created on: April 27, 2010   Last Updated: April 29, 2010

Weakness of attitude becomes  weakness of character is what Albert Einstein said, and he was right.  In a world where reality television exploits character and somebody famous is caught being bad every week, , character is something we must endeavor to conscientiously teach by example first and then, by any means possible. There are a variety of Character Lists defined. For clarification, I will be addressing seven key character traits I believe to define the highest quality of humanness. Integrity ( honesty and trustworthiness), Faithfulness ( responsibility and diligence), Compassion (kindness and caring), Justice ( fairness and mercy), Respect ( honor and unprejudiced living) , Goodness (right choices for the good of self and all) and Love ( of self and others).

The word Character actually means ' enduring marks. '  This is truly the goal of character building. We want to instill value of enduing quality. The most profitable way to accomplish this is also the most difficult to achieve. Consistent examples of good character are the most productive ways to produce desired behavior. We should, as Gandhi says ' be the change we wish to see'.  Aside from that high and noble process, there are several activities we can include in our lives that will strengthen our foundational process.

Integrity is high on the list of things we all want from one another. . Integrity gives a person much freedom in their human spirit, but it remains one of the most difficult things to maintain in the little things...(which is where it counts for the big things). When you want to explore the truth, try playing the old Telegraph Game. You sit in a circle and the leader whispers in the ear of the first person. The first person whispers it in the ear of the second person and each person continues until the message is passed around. The last person says what they think they heard and the leader affirms or tells them if it is true. Sometimes, this can be quite hilarious and it is always a good way to show how things can get twisted or the truth can get lost in the process. You can also play What Happened to Joe? which is a simple game of story telling. Surprisingly, people often tell on themselves in this game. Every person tells a story that begins with " What happened to Joe...." and then they tell how Joe told a lie about his brother and this is what happened. It helps people to actually play through the consequences of their choice to be untruthful. It helps

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