26 Quotes About Character That Can Easily Turn Into Important Life Lessons

quotes about character

It’s quite a hard truth to accept, but nothing in your life matters as much as strong, unrelenting character. It’s why you have to work on it and better yourself with each passing day. Sometimes this slips my mind. Other times, I start thinking that perhaps character isn’t as important of a factor as image or likeability. That’s when I look at these quotes about character.

One of the most famous sayings about character is that it reflects who you are. Your reputation, on the other hand, reflects what others think of you. When you have a strong character and integrity, your reputation stops being a vital reference point by which you define yourself. Instead, you start valuing your own opinion of yourself much more. What’s more, you also start holding yourself accountable for your actions.

That’s precisely why it’s critical that you never stop working on your character. I’m a firm believer in using each day the universe gifts us with for self-improvement.

26 Best Quotes About Character That Will Teach You a Thing or Two

Quotes About Character That Explain What It Actually Is

1. “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” ― Albert Einstein

2. “Nearly all men can stand adversity. However, if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” ― Abraham Lincoln

3. “The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” ― Abigail Van Buren

4. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” ― John Wooden

5. “I’m afraid that we all make mistakes. One of the things that define our character is how we handle mistakes. If we lie about having made a mistake, then it can’t be corrected and it festers. On the other hand, if we give up just because we made a mistake, even a big mistake, none of us would get far in life.” ― Terry Goodkind

6. “What if the perfection of character is this? To live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.” ― Marcus Aurelius

7. “True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure. The greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character’s essential nature.” ― Robert McKee

Quotes About Character That Will Make You Want to Be a Better Person

8. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” ― Helen Keller

9. “What we call our destiny is truly our character, and that character can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible for our actions and attitudes does not need to be discouraging, because it also means that we are free to change this destiny. One is not in bondage to the past, which has shaped our feelings, to race, inheritance, background. All this can be altered if we have the courage to examine how it formed us. We can alter the chemistry provided we have the courage to dissect the elements.” ― Anais Nin

10. “A man far oftener appears to have a decided character from persistently following his temperament than from persistently following his principles.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

11. “Character is determined more by the lack of certain experiences than by those one has had.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

12. “It is not true that fate slips silently into our lives. It steps in through the door that we have opened, and we invite it to enter. No one is strong enough or cunning enough to avert by word or deed the misfortune that is rooted in the iron laws of his character and his life.”
― Sándor Márai

Character Quotes That Shed Some Light on Its Importance

13. “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. “Talent develops in tranquility, character in the full current of human life.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

15. “Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” ― James A. Michener

16. “Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow and only one thing endures ― character.” ― Harry Truman

17. “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

18. “A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.” ― James Allen

19. “Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character.” ― Alan Armstrong

20. “Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Motivational Quotes About Character That Explain We Should Always Work on Building It

21. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

22. “Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.” ― Joan Didion

23. “Character may almost be the most effective means of persuasion.” ― Aristotle

24. “Knowledge will give you power, but character ― respect.” ― Bruce Lee

25. “A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.” ― Charles de Gaulle

26. “Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.” ― Lawrence G. Lovasik

To Conclude

Not everyone has the same idea of which character traits are the most essential. In fact, people often disagree on that particular topic. However, I think that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. All that matters is that you fight to build whatever you decide are the essential traits. Only that way will you be able to look yourself in the mirror and be happy about what you see.

These quotes about character matter quite a bit to me because they serve as a vital reminder. Having good morals, integrity, and decent character traits are just some of the things I strive for in life. I hope they’ll help you in the same way they do me.

Nicole Middleton
Nicole calls herself a typical millennial girl and thrives on her share of social media, celebrity gossip, and all things viral content. She’s a big fan of pop music and plays the guitar as a hobby.