Masterful Mindsets

“Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open.” ~ Elmer G. Letterman

Last week, we talked about the freedom to be yourself. About accepting who you are, owning who you are, and permitting yourself to stop hiding behind other people's expectations.

This week, I want to take that conversation a step further because one of the questions I hear people ask all the time is:

"What if I don't like certain things about myself?"

Maybe you've asked yourself that too.

Perhaps you've taken a personality assessment at some point in your life. Myers-Briggs, DISC, Enneagram, StrengthsFinder, there are plenty of tools designed to help us better understand ourselves. And while I think those tools can be incredibly helpful, I also think they can become limiting if we're not careful.

Sometimes people take a personality test and begin treating the results like a life sentence.

"I'm an introvert."

"I'm not a people person."

"I'm just not naturally confident."

"I'm not a le...

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” ~ Albert Einstein

People often use the words persistence and perseverance interchangeably.

But I think there’s an important difference between the two. And understanding that difference can completely change how you approach challenges, goals, relationships, and growth.

Because sometimes what looks like “commitment” is actually just staying stuck.

If You Keep Using the Same Ingredients…

One of the analogies I love sharing with clients is this:

If you keep putting the same ingredients into your cake… you’ll keep getting the same cake.

Seems obvious, right?

But think about how often we do this in life.

We keep thinking the same thoughts.
Making the same choices.
Avoiding the same hard conversations.
Using the same strategies.

And then we wonder why nothing changes.

If you want a different result, eventually something has to shift. (You need different ingredients.)

When ...

“Strength of character isn’t always about how much you can handle before you break, it’s also about how much you can handle after you’ve broken.” ~ Unknown

Last week, I had a conversation with a woman whose story stopped me in my tracks.

The amount of hardship she’s endured throughout her life was difficult to even imagine.

And yet…

She was warm.
Kind.
Faith-filled.
Resilient.
Strong.

Even in the middle of everything she’s been carrying.

If you met her casually, you probably never would have guessed she was walking through such a difficult season.

And honestly, it reminded me of something important…

It’s easy to display positive character traits when life is going well.

But adversity has a way of revealing who we really are.

Adversity Reveals Character

Last week, we talked about how actions reveal character.

And while that’s true, I think there’s an even deeper layer to it:

How someone shows up in the face of adversity says a tremendous amount about their true character.

“The truth of your character is expressed through the choice of your actions.” ~ Steve Maraboli

Father’s Day is this month, so this time of year always makes me think about my dad.

He passed away several years ago, and I still miss him deeply.

He was a man of tremendous character. The kind of person whose actions consistently reflected the values he lived by. He was honest, hardworking, reliable, fair, resilient, humble, and devoted to his family.

Perhaps what I admired most about him was that who he said he was and how he actually showed up were always aligned.

He had integrity.

Thinking about him is what inspired me this month to share this Masterful Mindset series with you on the topic of character.

Because honestly… I think all of us can benefit from a little reflection and growth in this area from time to time.

Character Is Revealed Through Action

When most people think about character, they think about personality.

But they’re not exactly the same thing.

Character ...