Three Sticks — Personal Development for Christians

In my article Celebrating Character, I explored Stephen Covey’s concepts of Character and Personality Ethic. In summary, Character Ethic is the belief that success is based on the strength on one’s character. In contrary the Personality Ethic is the belief that success is determined by establishing the appearance and attitudes of success without putting in the effort for personal growth and character development.

As usual, I examined my own life and tried to see how I either consciously or unconsciously applied the Personality Ethic to my life. Much to my dismay, I found that my some of my actions were influenced by elements of the Personality Ethic. For example, throughout my academic career I relied on my intelligence to “get by” with above average grades, however had I put in the hard work necessary to truly excel, I believe that I could have had a brighter career. I can remember that at the time I would be honestly disappointed in my grades and myself for not achieving better grades and the status that came with it. I wanted to short-cut the process and not put in the effort to truly succeed.

Unfortunately, indulging in the Personality Ethic in one aspect of your life can allow it to spread to other areas. I now know that some of my lack of success as an entrepreneur is do to attempting to create the illusion of success without putting in the work necessary to truly succeed. One of my greatest weaknesses is being consistent, it’s not a question of being lazy, but rather of being immature enough to allow myself to be distracted by other activities instead of being focused. As a result, I have above average success as defined by the world with my above average paying job, but little success in other areas.

Blogging is an area in which you can allow the Personality Ethic to take hold and limit your success. What do I mean? If you are a blogger and exhibit the following behaviors, you might be following the Personality Ethic in your blogging;

• Constantly checking your stats (money earned, number of visitors)
• Expecting instant traffic because you just released your masterpiece
• Inconsistent writing

At one time or another nearly every blogger has exhibited these and similar behaviors and their is little harm in that. The danger occurs only when these types of behaviors become habits.

The “success without work” mentality that is fundamental to the Personality Ethic can harm others, but does the most harm to the person practicing the behaviors and habits instilled by the Personality Ethic. You can experience great external success by relying on the Personality Ethic, but because it relies on manipulation and control to portray an contrived image to the world, you will find yourself feeling empty and emotionally exhausted.

As bloggers, we are especially prone to engage in the behaviors endorsed by the Personality Ethic. Many bloggers inherently want the approval of others if for no other reason than to increase the traffic of their site. This could lead them to hiding much of who they are and what they truly believe in order to increase their appeal and level of acceptance.

However, there are plenty of bloggers that make the conscious choice to embrace the Character Ethic and achieve real success. Steve Pavlina is an example of a blogger that has chosen the Character Ethic as the path to success only after exploring the Personality Ethic earlier in his life. I too have chosen the Character Ethic to guide all aspects of my life. I hope you will too.

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