Lesson 30 - Character and Failure
Self-Awareness | Character & Failure
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Quotes:
- "The truth of your character is expressed through the choice of your actions." -- Unknown
- "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." -- Unknown
- "Talent is a gift, but character is a choice." -- John Maxwell
- "People with good intentions make promises, but people with good character keep them." -- Unknown
Questions for Discussion and/or Journaling:
Sometimes asking ourselves the right questions can do a lot to help us see life from a whole different perspective.
- In what way is your integrity your gift to yourself? In what way is it your gift to the world? Can you think of any examples?
- Is being thought of as someone with integrity important to you? Why, or why not? How would you feel if someone accused you of not having integrity?
- What does integrity have to do with your character?
- Have you ever been so afraid of failing at something that you decided not to try it at all?
- How do you define success? (Money and possessions? A prestigious profession? Lots of friends? Health? Happiness? Providing for a family? Loving what you do? Giving to your community? Celebrity? Being the best at what you do? Accomplishing what you set out to do or learn?)
- Where do your standards of success come from?
- Have you ever experienced a significant failure? What was that like, what did you learn about yourself or others from that experience?
- What determines success? (Talent? Effort? Motivation? Luck?)
- Think of a major life goal at which you would like to succeed. What are you willing to do to achieve that success? What trade-offs are you willing to make? What will that success “cost” you and others in your life?
- What might you say to a friend ...
...who is compromising their health in order to get better grades?
...who has taken on too many activities and now is over-stressed and not doing any of them well?
...who has devoted themselves obsessively to only one activity in the single-minded pursuit of success?
...who is excelling at what they do but seems to experience no joy in life?
...who is about to submit a paper plagiarized from the internet, to avoid failing a course? - What are the pros and cons of striving for perfection? Is it possible/desirable to be perfect?
- If learning and growing always means you are trying things you can't already do, or striving to improve on your past performance, or learning things you don't already know, how can one ever be "perfect"? How can you be perfect and learn/grow at the same time?
Questions from: Bureau of Study Counsel, Center for Academic and Personal Development, Harvard University