The character choice to be loyal, honest, to love, to have faith, courage, grit, respect, self-control, and gratitude, all rests with you. It starts with how you think. In fact, we are designed to be thinking people. Everything we do, even the emotions we have all begin with thought. If you are depressed, you have been thinking of depressing things. If you are happy, you have chosen happy thoughts. Again, the character choice to be loyal, honest, to love, have faith, courage, grit, respect, self-control, and gratitude, all stems from your thought processes first, and you are the one who controls your thoughts. It’s your choice. If you are lacking in good character, the good news is, it is never too late to change. Think Ebenezer Scrooge. If you have no idea what that means, read or watch “The Christmas Carol.” There are several really good versions out there, but the Muppet version is one of our favorites.

Since character is a choice, and it begins with your thoughts, the way to change your character is to change the way you think. Where do your thoughts come from? Great question. They come from all of the stuff you put into your brain through your senses. And, most of that is a choice too. You choose the books you read, the videos/movies you watch, the music you listen to. If you want to change how you think, change the input. A simple way to gauge this is to do a simple exercise. Simple, right?

Influences in our lives

First, write down all the sources of input that you can think of. This could be TV, movies, family, friends, internet, coworkers, games, etc. Next, draw a circle on a piece of paper, or use your computer to print one off if you are so inclined, and divide up the circle in the amount of input you get from each source.

This would be an example. Feel free to color in each area if you so wish. Next, in each section, put a “P” if it is a positive influence, or an “N” if it is more negative. Remember, all of these can be either, so some of these may have both letters. If they do have both letters, then you will need to determine what parts are positive and what are negative, and then actively seek out the positive.

If you want to change your character, change your thinking. To change your thinking, change your sources of input to the positive side wherever possible. I know we don’t always have total control over what goes into our heads, but we have more control that we think we do.