Emily White When a man possesses these 11 qualities, he probably had good morals when growing up. A man does not choose to have character. It is constructed, silently, over time, by the surrounding people and the values he was brought up with. The majority of men who carry themselves well were taught when they were still young enough to know they were being taught. It was tramped on at the dinner table, in the manner of treating an argument at home, in what was made a feast and what was silently put to bed.
He Keeps His Word
When he says he will appear, then he appears. A man of true values was taught early in life that trust is nurtured in little things – and a promise to be kept is never a little thing.
He Respects Everyone
Not just people above him. The waiter, the janitor, and the one at the counter. Respect is not, to him, a reward of status. It is only the minimum required to be a good human being.
He Owns His Mistakes
None of the dodging, none of the excuses, none of the apportionment of blame. When he is wrong, he says so. Such accountability nearly always has its origins in a home where it has been practiced, not merely preached.
Honest Even When It Costs Him
He does not mellow down the truth to appear better. When it is more difficult to speak up, he does not remain silent. Such honesty can hardly be acquired during adulthood. It gets built young.
He Protects Without Being Asked
He watches and doth – without applause, when someone around him is uncomfortable or in trouble. That silent habit of taking care of his fellow-men had been inculcated in his nature long before he could tell why.
He Controls His Anger
He feels it – everyone does. But he never employs it as a weapon. A man who has grown up in a home where emotions were dealt with maturely brings that to each room he enters.
He Does Good Quietly
No audience required. No post about it after. He does it because it is the right thing and no one is observing. The behavior is the point. There is no difference in the name.
He Actually Listens
He finds no time to wait to speak. He listens to understand. That forbearance of conversation is nearly always a sign that someone actively listened to him as a boy.
He Shows Up Consistently
Not only in crises but in the prosaic, banal situations that result in a life. A man brought up in a household where one takes care of the others has that instinct without reflecting on it.
Grateful Without Performing It
Not an appreciative performance. Actually grateful. He notices when someone does something out of their way and he recognizes it without making a fuss about it. In the home he grew up in, gratitude was merely exercised.
He Never Stops Improving
He reflects. He adjusts. He sets standards for himself that move along with him as he develops. Those silent failures to rest contentedly with what he was yesterday were all but invariably initiated by someone in his life who exemplified just that.
