What is character? What are some examples of good character? How can we demonstrate good character in our day-to-day lives? In a world with an abundance of information at our fingertips and every influencer, artist and politician giving their opinion on the way things should be, it can be tricky to navigate and drown out the noise to understand what truly good character looks like.
Is there anyone you can think of in your life that shows good character? Someone who shows good character may not be the person who you may immediately think of as being heroic, charismatic and likeable. In fact, sometimes, to have good character, we must make decisions that may not be liked by others, or anyone. But having good character doesn’t mean following the crowd, as the majority isn’t always right. On some level, everyone knows what’s right and what’s wrong, and anyone can make a judgement whether an action is moral or immoral, but a person with a good character will act accordingly.
Therefore, to have good character, it means consistently making the right choice, even when it may be the less pleasant one. Of course, people don’t need to be perfect all the time, having flaws and slip-ups make us human, but so does having an awareness of what constitutes as moral behaviour. So, because we all know that we can, let’s choose to make the right choices.
Even when no one is watching. Do it for yourself and for your own peace of mind. Being a good person and having good character is never for the benefit of others, but for yourself so that you can be confident in your own moral capacity – your own ‘goodness’.
The second part our new focus is conscience. It is all well and good to act with the character that Somerset College expects from every one of its students. The challenge, however, is acting with genuine self-awareness rather than performance, and ensuring that your character reflects a true commitment to your growth as a member of our community.
Take, for example, our recent Anzac ceremony. A person with character would remain silent and pay their respects as required and make the right choice, yet a person with conscience would go further, using those moments of silence to reflect upon the sacrifice of our soldiers and the reason why we commemorate such an event. This is especially pertinent for our future leaders, because leadership isn't a mask worn for a day, but a daily commitment to being someone others can genuinely trust and rely on, both within and beyond our College.
So, character and conscience are not two distinct things. They are two co-dependent parts of an image that Somerset College wants us to embody. It is who you are today, in both character and conscience, that determines who you will be as a leader of this College, and leader in the wider Australian or even international community.
As we approach ANZAC Day and reflect on the current global challenges around us, it’s...
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