Adversity Does it Build Character?

Does adversity build character, or does it reveal character?

Back when I was the manager at a drop-in community day program, one of the many things

I learned was we would most often hire people for their skills and end up firing them

for their character. During the interview process, people would present themselves well. They would get

the position because they had all the necessary skills, however, for some of them, as time progressed,

their negative character out -weighed their valued skills.

I believe that character is built over time. It is the culmination of habits, behaviours, and attitudes

learned over many years. As people mature into adults, their character becomes set. In controlled

situations, people may present themselves in a way that will have others believe this is how they are

most of the time. They put their best foot forward. Once they’ve been hired and relationships are built,

most people tend to relax, revealing their true character. For some there is li

ttle change. Unfortunately for others, their true character often is what we see when they are stressed, challeng

ed or disappointed. We often meet a person that surprises us when they are faced with conflict or an unfulfilled

expectations. The challenging situation does not build character, I believe the situation reveals the

character and who the person truly is.

Adversity will not build character, it will simply reveal it.

On the other side of the discussion, I had to ask myself, what are those situations where character

actually begins to shift, grow and expand? It is the times when a person is confronted and forced to

examine their character. They realize that their automatic, traditional way of being — their existing

character — is no longer working. It is in those few moments when their character can change.

Character is built only in those times when people recognize that their traditional way of being, their

coping mechanisms, and who they are is no longer serving them. In that moment, they actually get to

choose who they want to be going forward. That change happens when the adversity creates a situation

where nothing is working, and the individual involved feels out of control or extremely uncomfortable.

Character is built when the individual begins to look for new insight and lessons. It is when they choose

something different and a new way of being – that character is build.  So, does adversity build or reveal character?

I believe in most situation s, adversity reveals character.  However, there are those extreme situations when people

recognise that who they are is no longer serving them. It is when a shift happens, character is developed and expanded into

something better.

Watch this episode on our youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKTARWeGPFo

To learn more about Suzan Hart - visit her website at https://fitfabandfulfilled.com/