Defining Good Character.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about understanding the essence of character.

We often talk about building character, having good character, and celebrating the virtues we see in others' character, but what is it? I know I want my character to be good, and I recognize it in the people I associate with. But I never really thought about what good character actually is or how it's defined. Instead of just writing today's fortune and talking about determination like I probably should have, I went down a rabbit hole researching the meaning of character. 

Here's what I found:

The idea that we each have a distinct personality dates all the way back to Hippocrates, who believed our behaviors were influenced by bodily fluids like blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm — which they called "humors." Eww! While the ancient Greeks obviously didn't understand how our personalities are truly formed, they certainly knew this thing called personality existed. The word "character" was around back then too, but it simply referred to symbols in the alphabet — no connection to personality yet.

I didn't find much for about 1,500 years until the usage of "character" to specifically mean a person's moral qualities or personality traits emerged in manuscripts in the 17th century. Before that, people were pretty much seen as two-dimensional. Your status, wealth, and skills defined you, and the idea of your personality was regarded by others as simply good, bad, or maybe grouchy.

Fast-forward another thousand years or so to Sigmund Freud, who came up with a new theory about the id, ego, and superego. Okay, now I was getting somewhere! His work sparked decades of study by psychologists to eventually identify and define a taxonomy that better determines your personality type. They called it the Five-Factor Model, which was formalized and gained widespread acceptance in 1981. I guess they missed one factor because in 2005 they added a sixth factor and changed the name to HEXACO. (Probably not a name that a marketer suggested.)

Then, I discovered the VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues, which seems to finally define the 24 complex ingredients that make up our character. Originally developed to provide the field with a foundation for research on what enables and promotes good character and "the good life," this classification outlines six virtues each with four related strengths under each virtue. Finally, a clear definition of character!

If you were wondering about your determination as mentioned by today’s fortune, it is classified in your character under the virtue of “Bravery”. While it took the smartest humans thousands of years to understand and define your character, there’s no question that every person who has ever lived knows exactly what bravery is when they see it. It is your bravery that keeps you going until you achieve success, and once achieved, it is as today’s fortune says, “Your determination is a testament to your character.”