Character will always carry you through

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Lee M. Erickson
  • 71st Medical Support Squadron commander
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Don't forget where you came from.

Keep your feet on the ground.

Remember your roots.

Clichés? Yes.

Devoid of meaning? No.

The white noise of everyday living can cloud the meaning of these long-standing phrases. But their essence reminds us that as we progress in life and careers, we should never lose our foundation and never lose what defines us. Our character will always carry us through.

Life and careers get complicated. New pressures and new stressors constantly manifest themselves in an already semi-chaotic existence.

We will be pulled in a thousand polar opposite directions as we attempt to stay the course. This isn't easy.

As commanders, we will be asked to make difficult decisions that affect others' lives and careers. This isn't easy.

Many times we will be asked to choose between career and family. This isn't easy.

As we progress, we begin to believe our own hype and press. People may tell us only what we want to hear, not what we need to hear. This creates a false sense of being, a false sense of who we are. The cumulative effect is an erosion of our foundation, an erosion of our inner fiber.

This proclivity to erode does not happen quickly. It evolves over time and can transform our character, the character that is ever present in all our decisions. Before long, our character is no longer defining our experience. It is being defined by our experience.

Before we know it, the mirror shows a face we no longer recognize. Gone are the convictions and the courage; replaced by compromise and fear.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "At 18 our convictions are hills from which we look; at 45 they are caves in which we hide."

As ominous as this may sound, this does not have to become reality.

Use the mirror test each day and make sure you always recognize the image. Take your mind to the place where your character was its strongest.

Ask yourself, is this the right thing to do? You will always know the answer if you truly ask yourself the question with anticipation of a response.

Confide in your trusted circle. They will never steer you in a false direction and will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

Keep your character intact. External forces will constantly attempt to chip away at it, find a way in and start the erosion. Don't let it happen. Fight against it every day. Rest assured it will be fighting you.

Trust yourself to make the right decision. Crawl out of the cave, get back on the hill and stand there with confidence. Find your north, find your convictions and let them guide you in everything that you do.

Remember who you are, what you stand for and what you believe. No need to shout it. Others will see it in your actions.

It's an amazing thing to remember your convictions and to reaffirm your character. It's like rediscovering an old friend that was always there for you when you needed them the most. Hold on to the important things and never give in.

Fitzgerald was right on the money -- don't you feel 18 again?