If your level of responsibility or your platform grows faster than your personal character development, sooner or later the underdeveloped places of your character become the weakness or the crack that in that big moment under extreme pressure split wide open revealing the truth about you.
Character development counts. Don’t let anyone tell you different. It’s easy to prove what I’m saying is the truth and we can see examples where the moment is too big for someone and the truth about where they are mentally, physically or spiritually is on display for everyone to see. The truth about where that person is in their character development is revealed, regardless of the their intentions.
When I was growing up I remember the preacher quoting a bible scripture that said something like “be sure the truth will find you” and it was always said in some manipulative way to scare us into avoiding sin. It was much later in life that I understood this concept and how it practically works, regardless of your ideology.
The highest definition of the truth in my mind is “If it’s true, then it works.” I mean others will see the evidence of the truth in our lives in the way we live and behave. I think this is especially true in the big moments when we feel extreme pressure. It’s simply human to react based on feelings in the moments that are too big for us. The only way to be able to handle more pressure or the bigger moments is to prepare by continuing to intentionally grow and develop your character, to continue to become a better person. We all must continue to develop our ability to control of our emotions, and our reactions and responses under pressure. This kind of character development must be intentional. You must put in the work to prepare for this moments instead of hoping to react and feel properly in the big moment.
When we analyze these moments in our own lives, and the lives of the people around us, there’s always a a couple of key ingredients in this kind of failure. Taking offense or being offended exposes our under development as a person. The feeling of being offended extends from someone’s inability to form an appropriate verbal response and stay in control of your emotions. Many times it means that you can’t respond with the proper words, because you haven’t developed your vocabulary enough to respond appropriately, make thoughtful choice about the proper response based on what you think and not what you feel. The big pressure moments also expose our need to be affirmed, to be liked, to feel like we are enough, to be validated. Any insecurity or inadequacy that we would not normally feel at any other time can overwhelm us and causes the emotional reaction and the underdeveloped parts of our character to be exposed under extreme pressure, so “The truth finds you out.”
By the way, It’s troubling to me and should be troubling to you when the leaders of our country or the rich and famous in our society aren’t held a accountable for these kind of failures, especially when it has a negative effect on the rest of us because of the obvious responsibility that goes along with their platform. These kinds of failures affect each of us financially. They affect the stability of our culture and society. For sure what I am saying here applies in my own life and I believe that I am personally responsible and accountable for that growth in my life. For sure I have certainly failed in this area of my life and let other people down. Personal development and character growth applies in all of our lives. It’s our responsibility to add value as an individual, in our families, and in our society as a whole. For sure character counts, it’s pretty hard to argue it any other way. Do the work to define yourself. Don’t let the moment be too big for you!
Keep Coming Forward
Jimmy Hensel
