The Difference Between “Having Good Character” and “Being a Good Person"

Students often get confused by the difference between “having good character” and “being a good person.”  There is definitely some overlap between these (many good people also have good character), but in the end, they are two distinct things.

It all comes down to a person’s core values and to their motivations for acting as they do.  In general, people who are considered to have good character often have traits like integrity, honesty, courage, loyalty, fortitude, and other important virtues that promote good behavior.  These character traits define who they are as people—and highly influence the choices they make in their lives.

Furthermore, a person with good character does the right thing because they believe it is the right thing to do.  They don’t act because someone else is influencing or pressuring them to do so, and they don’t do something just because they want to look good in front of others.  They take the right action because it is important to them to live life according to their personal values.

On the other hand, some people simply take positive actions because of other influences. 

For instance, someone may donate money to a charitable organization when they are solicited in front of other people—but they may not have donated had they been out alone at the time. 

While the action of donating in this case is objectively good (and the person who donated is very likely “a good person”), this action isn’t necessarily a marker of good character.  It is also not a marker of poor character by any means—but the distinction of how you act in front of others versus how you act when you are alone is the key.

At its core, character is something that intrinsically occurs within a person and surpasses other factors like race, religion, age, gender, education, and even personality in determining how we respond when faced with tough situations in life.  Other factors and our lived experiences may influence the character traits we have—but it is ultimately our character itself that truly dictates how we act.

By Journal Buddies