'Knock and it shall be opened.’ But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac?
ARTICLE
Developing “Character”
By Mind Tools Content Team
In this article, we examine what character is and look at what you can do to develop it. We’ll also examine how you can defend your character by standing your ground.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
CLEAR ALL
BY TOPIC
BY TEACHER
BY TYPE
FILTER
TOPIC
- Romantic Relationships (64)
- Self-Mastery (55)
- Values (51)
- Communication Skills (47)
- Identity (43)
- Setting Limits and Boundaries (43)
- Self-Development (41)
- Anxiety (35)
- Depression (30)
- Honoring Emotion (30)
- Self-Discovery (28)
- Self-Care (24)
- Habit Formation (23)
- Marriage (23)
- Self-Reflection Practices (23)
- Parenting (22)
- BIPOC Well-Being (21)
- Building Character (21)
- Neuroscience (21)
- Stress Management (21)
- Authenticity (20)
- Athlete Well-Being (19)
- Finding Meaning (19)
- Goal Setting (19)
- Intimacy (19)
- Resilience (19)
- Search for Purpose (19)
- Trauma Healing (19)
- Anger (18)
- Neurodiversity (18)
- Self-Limiting Beliefs (17)
- Awareness (15)
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (15)
- Self-Healing (15)
- Spiritual Growth (15)
- Well-Being (15)
- ADD/ADHD (14)
- Divorce and Breakup (14)
- Mind-Body Connection (14)
- Self-Acceptance (14)
- Self-Esteem (14)
- Self-Realization (14)
- Self-Worth (14)
- Empowerment (13)
- Entrepreneurship (13)
- Mindfulness (13)
- Transformation (13)
- Black Well-Being (12)
- Brain Health (12)
- Cancer (12)
- Courage (12)
- Fear (12)
- Human Potential (12)
- Mindfulness Practices (12)
- Self-Control (12)
- Stress (12)
- Addiction (11)
- Family Dynamics (11)
- Forgiveness (11)
- Friendship (11)
- Leadership (11)
- Life Challenges (11)
- Self-Compassion (11)
- Self-Love (11)
- Shame (11)
- Speaking Your Truth (11)
- Vulnerability (11)
- Habits of Mind (10)
- Inner Peace (10)
- Negative Self-Talk (10)
- Positive Thinking (10)
- Boundary Confusion (9)
- Child’s Emotional Growth (9)
- Compassion (9)
- Confidence (9)
- Guilt (9)
- Letting Go (9)
- Motivation (9)
- Peak Performance (9)
- Physical Health (9)
- Presence (9)
- PTSD (9)
- Self-Reckoning (9)
- Children’s Well-Being (8)
- Community Healing (8)
- Dysfunctional Childhood (8)
- Fellowship and Community (8)
- Grief (8)
- Happiness (8)
- Identity Shifts (8)
- Imagination and Creativity (8)
- Intention (8)
- Mental Health Challenges (8)
- Moral Philosophy (8)
- Racial Identity (8)
- Self-Actualization (8)
- Spiritual Life (8)
- Suicide (8)
- Toxic Relationships (8)
- Women’s Well-Being (8)
- Work Relationships (8)
- Acceptance (7)
- Activism/Service (7)
- Addiction Recovery (7)
- Anger Management (7)
- Autism (7)
- Criticism and Rejection (7)
- Decision Making (7)
- Failure (7)
- Focus (7)
- Inner Life (7)
- Inner Strengths (7)
- Love (7)
- Psychology (7)
- Self-Expression (7)
- Self-Reliance (7)
- Withholding (7)
- Breathwork (6)
- Buddhism (6)
- Burnout (6)
- Chronic Anxiety (6)
- Connection (6)
- Creative Well-Being (6)
- Growth Mindset (6)
- Kindness (6)
- Meditation (6)
- Passive-Aggressive Behavior (6)
- Positive Self-Talk (6)
- Sex (6)
- Social Justice (6)
- Social Responsibility (6)
- Soul Mission (6)
- Spiritual Awakening (6)
- Trust (6)
- Visualization (6)
- Work-Life Balance (6)
- Asking for Help (5)
- Belonging (5)
- Codependency (5)
- Consciousness (5)
- Cross-Cultural Dynamics (5)
- Curiosity (5)
- Disconnection (5)
- Endurance (5)
- Global Challenges (5)
- Gratitude (5)
- Integrity (5)
- LGBTQIA Well-Being (5)
- Narcissism (5)
- Neuroplasticity (5)
- Philosophical Approaches (5)
- Racial Healing (5)
- Social Anxiety (5)
- Spiritual Healing (5)
- Trauma (5)
- Young Adult Well-Being (5)
- Abandonment (4)
- Accepting Love (4)
- Adaptability (4)
- Attachment Theory (4)
- Child’s ADD/ADHD (4)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (4)
- Connection with Nature (4)
- Eating Disorders (4)
- Ego (4)
- Empathy (4)
- Inner Child (4)
- Journaling (4)
- Joy (4)
- Latinx Well-Being (4)
- Loneliness (4)
- Masculine/Feminine Dynamics (4)
- New Relationships (4)
- Offering Support to Others (4)
- Oneness (4)
- Passion (4)
- Perception (4)
- Performance Anxiety (4)
- Positive Psychology (4)
- Psychology and Spirituality (4)
- Race and Gender (4)
- Racial Justice (4)
- Racism (4)
- Spirituality and Health (4)
- Suffering (4)
- Veteran Well-Being (4)
- Willpower (4)
- AAPI Well-Being (3)
- Body Image (3)
- Body Positivity (3)
- Child’s Trauma (3)
- Chronic Pain (3)
- Clinical Depression (3)
- Competition (3)
- Conflict Resolution (3)
- Conscious Evolution (3)
- Diet and Nutrition (3)
- Digital Life (3)
- Disabled Well-Being (3)
- Exercise (3)
- Highly Sensitive People (3)
- Immigration and Assimilation (3)
- Interdependence (3)
- Intergenerational Trauma (3)
- Jealousy/Envy (3)
- LGBTQIA Relationships (3)
- LGBTQIA Sexuality (3)
- Manifestation (3)
- Memoir (3)
- Memory (3)
- Military to Civilian Re-entry (3)
- Motherhood (3)
- Neuropsychology (3)
- Racial Discrimination (3)
- Science and Spirituality (3)
- Self-Pressure (3)
- Shadow (3)
- Social Psychology (3)
- Spiritual Development (3)
- Stoicism (3)
- Tibetan Buddhism (3)
- Transitions (3)
- Work Challenges (3)
- Work Ethic (3)
- Yoga (3)
- Access to Education (2)
- Aging (2)
- Alcohol Addiction (2)
- Autoimmune Disease (2)
- Biofeedback (2)
- Child’s Anxiety (2)
- Child’s Autism (2)
- Child’s Challenging Behavior (2)
- Collaboration (2)
- Conscience (2)
- Despair (2)
- Discrimination (2)
- Doubt (2)
- Embodiment (2)
- Emotional Labor (2)
- Energy Healing (2)
- Enlightenment (2)
- Environmental Justice (2)
- Facing Own Death (2)
- Family Acceptance (2)
- Female Empowerment (2)
- Forest Bathing (2)
- Healthy Eating (2)
- Higher Calling (2)
- Holism (2)
- Hope (2)
- Humility (2)
- Hypnosis (2)
- Indigenous Well-Being (2)
- Integrative Medicine (2)
- Jungian Analysis (2)
- Mindfulness Meditation (2)
- Nonviolence (2)
- OCD (2)
- Optimism (2)
- Othering (2)
- Panic Attacks (2)
- Performance Pressure (2)
- Post-Traumatic Growth (2)
- Productivity (2)
- Regret (2)
- Relationship with Time (2)
- Ritual (2)
- Self-Discipline (2)
- Sexuality (2)
- Situational Depression (2)
- Sleep (2)
- Social Presence (2)
- Spiritual Practices (2)
- Storytelling (2)
- Time Management (2)
- Academic Struggles (1)
- Acupressure (1)
- Affirmations (1)
- Altered States (1)
- Art Therapy (1)
- Awe (1)
- Betrayal (1)
- Buddha Nature (1)
- Building Culture (1)
- Bullying (1)
- Cannabis/CBD (1)
- Challenges with Teens (1)
- Child’s Social Media Addiction (1)
- Chronic Health Conditions (1)
- Collective Trauma (1)
- Coming Out (1)
- Comparing Belief Traditions (1)
- Dark Night of the Soul (1)
- Death and Dying (1)
- Dharma (1)
- Domestic Abuse (1)
- Dream Analysis (1)
- Drug Addiction (1)
- Ecospirituality (1)
- Ego Dissolution (1)
- Energy Balancing (1)
- Enneagram (1)
- Faith (1)
- Fate (1)
- Fatherhood (1)
- Freedom (1)
- Gender Challenges (1)
- Gender Identity (1)
- Generational Healing (1)
- Generosity (1)
- Genetics (1)
- God (1)
- Goddess (1)
- Guided Meditation (1)
- Handling a Child’s Illness (1)
- Healing Approaches (1)
- Heartmath (1)
- Homophobia (1)
- Household Labor (1)
- Infidelity (1)
- Inspiration (1)
- Intuition (1)
- Judaism (1)
- Kids and Sports (1)
- Learning Styles (1)
- LGBTQIA Children (1)
- LGBTQIA Parents (1)
- Life Force Energy (1)
- Living as an Empath (1)
- Longevity (1)
- Love Languages (1)
- Lovingkindness (1)
- Men’s Well-Being (1)
- Mentoring (1)
- Midlife Crisis (1)
- Native American Beliefs (1)
- Near-Death Experience (1)
- Non-Duality (1)
- Nutritional Medicine (1)
- Patience (1)
- Personality Disorders (1)
- Personality Typing (1)
- Play (1)
- Prayer (1)
- Pregnancy and Childbirth (1)
- Problem Solving (1)
- Psychedelic Journey (1)
- Psychoanalysis (1)
- Quantum Physics (1)
- Raising Daughters (1)
- Raising Nonbinary Children (1)
- Relationship with Money (1)
- Religious Experience (1)
- Rest (1)
- Retirement (1)
- Sexual Assault or Abuse (1)
- Somatic Practices (1)
- Spiritual Direction (1)
- Spiritual Fasting (1)
- Sustainability (1)
- Sutras (1)
- Synchronicity (1)
- The Divine (1)
- The Unconscious (1)
- Transgender Well-Being (1)
- Transpersonal Psychology (1)
- Unfulfilled Career (1)
- Unity (1)
- Vitamin Supplementation (1)
- Wake-Up Calls (1)
- Wholeness (1)
- Youth Activism (1)
- Zen Buddhism (1)
FILTER
TEACHER
- Richard Davidson (6)
- Terri Cole (6)
- Andrew Solomon (5)
- Esther Perel (5)
- Lisa Feldman Barrett (5)
- Brendon Burchard (4)
- Brené Brown (4)
- Daniel Amen (4)
- don Miguel Ruiz (4)
- Elizabeth Lesser (4)
- Gary Chapman (4)
- Julie Schwartz Gottman (4)
- Karla McLaren (4)
- Rick Hanson (4)
- The Dalai Lama (4)
- Brian Tracy (3)
- Elaine Aron (3)
- Gabor Maté (3)
- Gary Zukav (3)
- John Perry (3)
- Lori Gottlieb (3)
- Nedra Glover Tawwab (3)
- Ramani Durvasula (3)
- Sharon Strand Ellison (3)
- Alan Watts (2)
- Amishi Jha (2)
- Chalene Johnson (2)
- Daniel Goleman (2)
- Daniel J. Siegel (2)
- Debbie Ford (2)
- don Jose Ruiz (2)
- Eckhart Tolle (2)
- Edward Hallowell (2)
- Gay Hendricks (2)
- Harville Hendrix (2)
- Helen LaKelly Hunt (2)
- Jay Shetty (2)
- John Gottman (2)
- John Sarno (2)
- Ken Wilber (2)
- Lorin Roche (2)
- Marcus Aurelius (2)
- Thich Nhat Hanh (2)
- Thubten Chodron (2)
- Tony Gaskins Jr. (2)
- Alain de Botton (1)
- Andrew Weil (1)
- angel Kyodo williams (1)
- Angela Duckworth (1)
- Anne Lamott (1)
- Bessel van der Kolk (1)
- Biet Simkin (1)
- Blaise Aguirre (1)
- Bruce Lipton (1)
- Chan Khong (1)
- Chip Conley (1)
- Connie Zweig (1)
- David J. Wolpe (1)
- Dorothy Day (1)
- Dorothy Firman (1)
- Elizabeth Gilbert (1)
- Gangaji (1)
- Gordon Neufeld (1)
- Hyla Cass (1)
- Iskra Lawrence (1)
- Iyanla Vanzant (1)
- James Doty (1)
- James Hillman (1)
- James Hollis (1)
- Jan Willis (1)
- Jana Long (1)
- Jeff Foster (1)
- John Welwood (1)
- Joseph M. Marshall III (1)
- Judith Blackstone (1)
- Judith Orloff (1)
- Judson Brewer (1)
- Karen Casey (1)
- Kate Johnson (1)
- Kathlyn Hendricks (1)
- Kim Eng (1)
- Kristin Neff (1)
- Leah Guy (1)
- Lindo Bacon (1)
- Lise Van Susteren (1)
- Lodro Rinzler (1)
- Louise Hay (1)
- M. Scott Peck (1)
- Marie Forleo (1)
- Mark Nepo (1)
- Martin Seligman (1)
- Matt Kahn (1)
- Maya Angelou (1)
- Melanie Joy (1)
- Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (1)
- Nicole LePera (1)
- Noah Elkrief (1)
- Noah Levine (1)
- Oprah Winfrey (1)
- Paramahansa Yogananda (1)
- Pema Chödrön (1)
- Philip Goldberg (1)
- Piero Ferrucci (1)
- Poppy Jamie (1)
- Ralph De La Rosa (1)
- Robert A. Johnson (1)
- Robert Augustus Masters (1)
- Ruby Wax (1)
- Rudolph Ballentine (1)
- Russell Brand (1)
- Sam Harris (1)
- Satish Kumar (1)
- Scott Edelstein (1)
- Shakti Gawain (1)
- Shefali Tsabary (1)
- Simon Sinek (1)
- Stan Tatkin (1)
- Stephanie Y. Evans (1)
- Stephen Covey (1)
- Steven Kotler (1)
- Tara Brach (1)
- Tara Mohr (1)
- Terry Real (1)
- Tony Robbins (1)
- Wayne Dyer (1)
- William Bloom (1)
- Wim Hof (1)
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (1)
- Yung Pueblo (1)
- Zainab Salbi (1)