Can People Change?

This article was first published November 2, 2009, at members.characterfirst.com.

We see ourselves as able to choose freely in each situation. But practically speaking, how many experience a shift in priorities large enough to make them more likely to make right choices vs. wrong choices?

We each know a story or two about someone who dramatically changed for the better or the worse. But why are these stories so rare?

Perhaps our conscious choices are not the only factor. If it were as simple as deciding what to do and then doing it, New Years’ resolutions wouldn’t be broken, nicotine patches would be obsolete, and programs like Character First! would be unnecessary.

But outside influences, whether the environment or people, do lead to many of our choices: even causing us to sometimes choose against what we “want.” In fact, we are so awash in outside influences that the question could probably be turned around: Can people avoid changing? And probably if we look at those changes, we’ll see that people—community—are/is involved at every step. So maybe it’s not change that’s rare–it’s just fast change.

Perhaps the best role Character First! can play is to help people build a community that is supportive of the natural person–changing aspects of community.

• Being part of a Character First! initiative doesn’t mean spending lots of time on the Members’ Library–it means taking little pieces you’ve gleaned about character and living them out here and there.

Don’t be intimidated by big terms like “successful relationships.” Pursuing personal character and the good relationships that follow is a very every-day sort of activity.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.