When it comes to a person of strong character, we can often recognize it when we see it. Here is a description of the kind of person God would like us to be becoming:
Occasionally, even today, you come across certain people who seem to possess an impressive inner cohesion. They are not leading fragmented, scattershot lives. They have achieved inner integration. They are calm, settled, and rooted. They are not blown off course by storms. They don’t crumble in adversity. Their minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable.
They possess the self-effacing virtues of people who are inclined to be useful but don’t need to prove anything to the world: humility, restraint, reticence, temperance, respect, and soft self-discipline. They radiate a sort of moral joy. They answer softly when challenged harshly. They are silent when unfairly abused. They are dignified when others try to humiliate them, restrained when others try to provoke them.*
Three questions to ask yourself when developing secret-confidence
- What are the inputs you are consuming? That will shape your thinking and your acting and your reacting?
- Who are the people you are pursuing? Who will inspire humility, patience, responsiveness to God’s voice and plan?
- What are the habits you are acquiring? That will build responsiveness and respect? That will strengthen your emotional and spiritual and resiliency muscles?
*Source: The Road to Character, by David Brooks