Saturday, October 8, 2022

0 Building Characters and Virtues

 Characters reveal what we will do when no one is watching.

Virtues reveal what we do even when under pressure.

As parents, our kids imitate us for better or worse and even reactively do the opposite things to annoy us. A home is a place where we can see our true self, the character within that no other person in public will know. This true self is shaped by hundreds and thousands of habits formed while growing up. These habits are not a thinking-through process. These habits come automatically without pausing, reactively without thinking, and impulsively without thinking. 

If we are to build Characters and Virtues for the next generation, we are to rebuild the little habits that shape our actions and talks. Characters and Virtues are built not by reading books, not by telling them what to do, but by watching us react and respond to conversations, crises, and comfort. The ways we live are what the kids will see. And this is what they will imitate and become.

Let’s journey together to build habits in these six major areas together:

Desiring Wisdom
Shaping Courage
Nurturing Humanity
Strengthening Justice
Developing Temperance
Cultivating Transcendence

References:
Handbook of Characters and Virtues

Values in Action Survey

Values in Action Sample (Characters at Home)






1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Sharon! What a treasure this is!

    ReplyDelete

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