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Character Is Destiny: Create Yours Daily!

Steven Barnes
3 min readOct 24, 2019

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Character is destiny. Expecting people to behave other than their essential nature is an exercise in futility. The best way to DETERMINE that character is to study their past actions. Second, figure out the lies they tell about it. The most honest person can’t get their behaviors and perceptions, their stated obligations and actions to match 100%. WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT IT? Can they admit it? Do they need to be “right” all the time? Do they gaslight you and try to get you to question your own perceptions?

And with you…when you look at what you want to achieve, with excellence…who would you need to be to do this, with joy? Note that if you were already that person, you’d already have the thing. The “gap” between where you are and where you need to be is what you need to learn, the direction of growth.

There will be multiple identities, whole little communities of virtual people inside you. The worst thing you can do is define yourself as a brain in a bottle. There is no joy there, and little honesty. An acceptable way is to define yourself from heart-space. I did this for decades, and it worked for me because I didn’t consciously consider that I already had my “root” baked into my daily activities from yoga and martial arts ( a @#$$ GREAT combination, btw.)

But if you have any questions at all, any problems with your body image or fitness, any lack of financial stability or sexual connection — start with the “Belly Brain.” In the morning, the very first thing I do is BREATHE. I sit up in…

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Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes

Written by Steven Barnes

Steven Barnes is a NY Times bestselling author, ecstatic husband and father, and holder of black belts in three martial arts. www.lifewritingpodcast.com.

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