If we want to know who another person is all we need to do is watch what they do. Strip away their words completely and just focus on their actions…observe just their actions over a period of time. As you do this you will begin to know their true character because their actions will be screaming it far more honestly than their words ever could.
“Don’t let someone’s words blind you from their behavior.” – Steve Maraboli
Now it’s simply a fact that everyone is going to make some mistakes in life. And mistakes in and of themselves are not the thing that defines a person’s character. But what a person does after they’ve made a mistake very much does. If you really want to know someone’s true character watch what their actions are after they’ve made a mistake:
Do they try to lie and cover it up? Do they repeatedly try and excuse their lies as misunderstandings or a miscommunication? Do they try and laugh the lies off as no big deal? Do they act offended or act angry when you call them out on their lies? If so you need to recognize that their true character is that of a liar.
Do they say they are sorry about their mistakes but then continue to make the same ones time and time again? If so their character is that of a manipulator.
Or do they admit the mistake, take full accountability for their mistake, and then perform all of the actions and hard work necessary to do everything in their power to correct their mistake? Do they then go on to put safeguards in place to ensure they won’t ever make that same mistake again? If so then their character is that of a good person.
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” – CG Jung
A persons character is defined by what they do, not what they say. It is so easy for a person to say words, but you don’t really know who a person truly is until you see a track record of their actions.
Anyone can claim to have the best of intentions, but at the end of the day our true intentions won’t be shown in our words, our true intentions will be a reflection of our actions. As Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said, “Good intentions are not enough. WE MUST DO.”
Don’t be blinded by words….watch actions.
~Amy Rees Anderson
