DefaultSetting

What guides our thinking when things are going great?  What stipulates our reactions when we're under duress or dealing with difficulty.  What guides our behavior when no one else is watching?

Character.

Our character is our default setting.  When we reboot, our character is ground zero, the place we start from.

So, how is character fashioned?  It's the result of several things:

• The values we were raised with.
• The influence of consequential others in/on our lives.
• The choices we personally make regarding our beliefs.

What are the indicators of our character?

• Love - how we display it, how we receive it.
• Self-control - how we regulate ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.
• Integrity - how we align our actions to our beliefs and words.
• Optimism - how we see, and work toward, a better tomorrow.
• Humility - how we acknowledge and accept our own frailty.
• Courage - how we fare in the face of opposition.
• Respectfulness - how we view and treat others.
• Spiritual groundedness - how we seek and represent the God of our understanding.

Is our character set in concrete?  Nope.  Just like our golf swing, our reading habits, our morning routines, and our nutrition regimen, our character is, in effect, the habitual manifestation of choices we make.

While character is our default setting, we have the power to determine what those settings are.  And, we have the power to change them if we like.