Albert Einstein said, “Adversity introduces a man to himself.”
- A man in Michigan stood on the corner of an Exxon gas station holding a sign: “Free Gas for Nurses.” He spent $900 of his own money to fill tanks for 80 medical workers on the front lines.
- In South Dakota a middle school teacher stood outside a student’s house with a whiteboard and markers so he could illustrate how to graph an algebraic function after his emailed instructions after the shutdown didn’t help.
- Every day for the past few weeks a woman in Maryland leaves hundreds of healthy bagged lunches on a tent-sheltered table at a busy intersection with a sign: “For anyone who needs it.”
According to David Brooks, author of The Road to Character, we build our character through our actions.
- Actions that stem from honesty, courage, integrity, humility, and gratefulness
- Actions that are not blinded by fear, vanity, gluttony, pride, or glory
- Actions that are designed not to impress, but to serve… without expectations
And in crisis, that character is exposed and tested…
- The first week of self-isolation, I acted with optimism (I shouted, “Hope springs eternal!” to everyone).
- The second week I acted out of service and innovation (I architected Guides to Mobile Mentoring and Crisis Mentoring to help our clients).
- The third week I acted adventuresome (I started learning Spanish with my niece and nephew via virtual lessons on Babbel).
- This week I’m acting out of impatience and irritation…
Fortunately, as Brooks’ book title indicates, it’s a road to character – a journey, not a goal or a destination.
Brooks explains that people of character use every experience (even adversity) as tools for transformation. So while crisis exposes and tests our character, we can also use it to strengthen our character.
And every day we get another opportunity to do just that – to serve without expectations, to be honest, courageous, humble, and grateful.
When everything around us feels unpredictable and uncertain, our character is the one thing we can completely control. |
