Silly Quote

A colleague of mine has this quote inserted at the bottom of every e-mail she sends:

"Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

Pause... Pause again... Scratch head with puzzled look on face... Mutter, "huh," under breath.

I mean, the idea's great right? You want to develop your character. It's "more important" than your reputation. So, would you like to know my opinion on this? You're still reading... Well, even if you don't want to, too bad. This is philosophically idealistic bull-shit.

First of all, character is totally subjective. Imagine that you think yourself a kind person, but everyone else in the world thinks you're a heartless, miserable bastard. I am reminded of a famous quote by Emerson - one which reveals this mentality's ignorance. "Be it what it may, it is ideal to me, so long as I cannot try the accuracy of my senses." Essentially, as long as I don't look to see if there's any evidence to the contrary, I can believe whatever I like.

Well, let's come down from la-la land and think about the importance of a reputation for a minute. If people believe you to be a certain way, then they are more likely to see your actions in that particular light instead of in some other light. Imagine someone who is known to be a very good musician. He takes some unusual liberties with a piece of music. Instead of saying, "He turned that lovely piece of music into dog-drool!" we might say, "I would never have thought to take those liberties. What an interesting interpretation."

Addtionally, we are not defined solely by who we think we are. Other people's perceptions of us undoubtedly enter into our conception of self. To suggest that we should see a hierarchy here seems naive. Both are important, and both fulfill useful functions. Our sense of character may act as a sense of fulfillment while our reputation may make people think highly of us. Other people thinking highly of us will then influence our sense of self-worth, which will change our character. The two are interrelated.