Is There a Difference Between Character and Personality?

Many times the words character and personality are used interchangeably.  While
related, there are distinct differences between the two words and their meanings.

Character is often used to define a person’s integrity, such as he has “upstanding

character” or “his character is lacking.”  Character is actually a set of behavior traits
that define what type of person you are. 

Personality, on the other hand, is defined as the traits with which you were born. 
People tend to be either analytical in nature or socially outgoing.  Most people fall
into the realm of being either extroverted or introverted. 

Personality is inborn.  Character, however, comes from learned behavior inside your
early relationships.  This learning comes from both observation and interaction with
your parents, teachers, and other social networks.  Character as well as belief and
value systems are inherently linked.

Character can be changed purposely in order to better get along in groups or it can
vary situationally.  An example of situational character is the person who never
misses a church service but does have absences at work.  Or vice versa.

Character traits are the attitudes and beliefs that you have toward your life, work,
family, and community.  Character traits may be positive, negative, or somewhere in
between.  There is a direct link between positive character traits and a happy and
successful life. 
 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey's best-known book, has sold more
than 15 million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1989. Covey adamantly
refuses to confound principles and values; he sees principles as external natural
laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values
govern people’s behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences.

Our character is a collection of our habits, and habits have a powerful role in our
lives. Habits consist of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge allows us to know
what to do, skill gives us the ability to know how to do it, and desire is the
motivation to do it.

The Seven Habits move us through the following stages: 1. Dependence: the
paradigm under which we are born, relying upon others to take care of us. 1.
Independence: the paradigm under which we can make our own decisions and take
care of ourselves. 2. Interdependence: the paradigm under which we cooperate to
achieve something that cannot be achieved independently.

The reality is that we are interdependent, and the independent model is not
optimal for use in an interdependent environment that requires leaders and team
players. Therefore, the first three habits focus on self-mastery, that is, achieving
the private victories required to move from dependence to independence. The first
three habits are:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
• Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habits 4, 5, and 6 then address interdependence:
• Habit 4: Think Win/Win
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
• Habit 6: Synergize
Finally, the seventh habit is one of renewal and continual improvement, that is, of
building one's personal production capability.

To be effective, one must find the proper balance between actually producing and
improving one's capability to produce. Effectiveness is a function of both production
and the capacity to produce. The need for balance between production and
production capability applies to physical, financial, and human assets.
 Think positively!

Ukrainian people are superstitious. They are afraid of calling themselves happy.
When an American is asked about his frame of mind, he invariably answers ”I’m fine.
Everything is O.K.” A Ukrainian says “I feel rotten .Everything is going wrong”.

The Ukrainians are regarded as malcontents and pessimists. They are usually
dissatisfied with life. Therefore, they have the right to lay claims to everything and
blame on everybody.

Such negative thinking has a very negative impact on the person as well as on the
people around. On the one hand, the person cannot achive a state of contentment.
On the other, those people cannot function normally. It has been proved by
psychologists, that people need a positive interpersonal climate if they are to be
open to developing new ideas and learning new things.

People who consider themselves less clever, less interesting or less successful than
others are not likely to ever be happy. At the same time, people pleased with their
lives tend to lavish their positive energy upon people around them.

American psychologists have invented a simple therapy which helps to change the
negative attitude towards oneself. One should stand before the mirror, look at his or
her own reflection and repeat to himself, I’m great. I’m satisfied with life”. One
should say it with a deep conviction not laughing or being ashamed.

It is also essential to realize that you are not the hub of the Universe. People also
should not expect other people to solve their problems but be active about their
lifes. They should remember that happiness overlooks passive and lazy people.

Another thing to remember is that people are not machines, they should have a
break and let things slide and not to be strained. Optimists live longer. Because they
enjoy life and keep smiling.
 Body language
Body language is much more influential than most people recognize. The main
reason it is so important is because it is more truthful than the official elements of
our social encounters. We lie much more easily with our spoken words than with our
expressions, our gesticulations and our body postures. We may be able to control
and manipulate some of our gestures but not all of them.

Some individuals - such as great actors and devious politicians - do become

extremely adept at lying with their bodies. They often fool us, and we believe them.
They manage to avoid what has been called 'non-verbal leakage' -something that
most of us do every day. Despite our attempts to suppress tell-tale signs, we give the
game away by leaking little bits of information as we speak. We do this in several
ways.

When we are telling lies we gesticulate less. This is because, unconsciously, we sense
that if we use our hands their actions may not fit with our words. It may not be easy
to spot but to a trained eye it is clear enough.

Although the liar is less likely to wave his hands about in the air, he is more likely to
use them in other ways. When deception is taking place he feels a strange
compulsion to touch his face. Every so often one or both hands move up towards his
mouth, as if trying to mask the lie that is issuing from his lips.

Another hand posture that increases when deception is taking place is the hand
shrug. The hands are held in front of the body, palm up and with the fingers slightly
curled.

Another form of non-verbal leakage is the body shift. When we are telling the truth
we may wave our hands about, we may even lean forward, or leap up, but we do
not squirm. The bad liar does squirm a little, his body showing a strong urge to
escape, while held firmly in place by the need to brazen out the lie.

All these tell-tale signs can be observed not only in people who are in the process of
telling lies but also when they are momentarily silent. Then, the gestures must be
interpreted in a slightly different way.

So caution must be used when interpreting these small 'leaks' in our body language.
Despite this weakness, however, non-verbal leakage does provide valuable clues
about how simple and straightforward a companion is being in any particular
encounter, or how complex and devious he is.
 The Power of Colour

Colour therapy works on the premise that each colour has its own energy and
that we absorb this through our light-sensitive cells. The aim is to create a balance
and a free-low of this energy. Obviously, no two people respond to colour in the
same way, so this is a highly subjective practice, but there are some general rules.
The most calming colours are the cool ones - blues, greens and violets - so the
theory is that if we are aiming for peace and tranquility, we should avoid red walls
and stick to the more gentle side of the spectrum.

Violet promotes inspiration and contemplation. Green is a balancing colour,

neither hot nor cold, and is particularly effective in the city, where there are few
green fields, but blue is the most calming of all. Being in a blue environment makes
you breathe out and really slows you down. It is a perfect colour for bedrooms and
promotes good, cozy dreams.'

Too much deep blue, for example, can slow us down so much that it makes us
melancholy, so all colours must be balanced by their complementary colour.

White, 'the classic colour of simplicity', which not only functions as a cool colour
in its own right but also gives other colours room to breathe, to stop competing, to
be themselves

Colour therapy is increasingly used to improve office working conditions. "There

is no doubt that colours are very powerful and can reduce or raise stress levels,
'Bright reds and oranges raise blood pressure and make people work faster, but
increased output will inevitably be outweighed by exhaustion and errors, as
employers have discovered to their cost in the past.' According to Gimbel, the
effects of colour have been proved scientifically. He recommends an office colour
scheme that is mainly blue to promote calm, with pastel oranges to encourage
creative productivity.
Role models have an astounding effect on the lives of young people in our society.
A role model has the ability to shape the views, ideals, and actions of a young
person. Role models help youth to discover how they wish to become in the
future. The influence that role models have over young people is tremendous. It is
important for role models to be positive and responsible in instilling good morals
and values because future generations are directly dependent on the role models
of today. By examining the influence of role models, role models in the
community, and role models in the media, we will be able to determine the true
effect that role models have on the lives of youth. Community role models are
people that youngsters interact.

For example, a role model who is a thief may cause a young person to believe that
stealing is acceptable and tolerable, which it is not. Community role models
definitely need to step up and take a more prevalent role in the lives youth. Role
models in the media are also essential for young people. These are idols, actors,
athletes, authors, politicians, revolutionaries or any other person who is known
because of their fame. Media role models have a high influence over young people
because they are often placed on a pedestal, and worshipped like gods. It is
important for youth to be wary of negative media role models because they may
glamorize truly wrong values.

An example of this is seen if we look at Paris Hilton. She lives a fascinating and
alluring lifestyle, yet was convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Because of her, many other young girls may believe that drinking and driving is
okay, or even cool. Role models in the media are important because of the
widespread effect they have on youth all over the world. The influence that role
models have over young people is vast and great. Role models can affect a young
person’s beliefs, or possibly change their entire outlook on life. Young people may
want to imitate the desirable traits they see in role models. Role models can also
have an effect on one’s decision-making process. The choices a young person
makes in life are directly associated with his or her