Personality, Character, Reputation...are they different?

This is a question that has had many people thinking. Some say that the three are different, but others say that the three mean the same thing. The question now is: Which set of people are right?

Google listed character as a synonym for personality and reputation. But that is not entirely true. The three do have a similarity in that they all deal with human attributes, but they are totally different from each other.

What is personality?

Personality is how one views one's self. Whatever you see your self to be, that is your personality. You may see yourself as being a good person, a 'thug', a person who is always caught up in the hype, etc. One thing with personality is that it is dynamic- dynamic meaning your personality is ALWAYS changing. You may not want to identify that fact, but it is indeed true. Some girls and guys when they want to look for a guy/girl who they classify as being 'husband/wife material', one thing they always say they look for is a good personality. If you're one of those guys/girls who look at personality, you need to stop. If you look for personality, you'd only be getting a cover up as to who the person really is. People can have more than one personality, and can choose which side to show you.

What is Reputation?

Reputation is how society views you. Like personality, reputation is always changing. in one part of society you may have a very good reputation, and in another section your reputation can be questionable. If many people were to watch the reputation of others to determine whether or not they should or should not associate with them, there would be a lot of people without friends and many people wouldn't be in the happy marriages they are in now. Don't watch a person's reputation because that can lead you astray. You can get a false judgement as to who the person really is if you follow everything that society says about them.

What is Character?

Character is the person who really are. It has to deal with the mental and moral qualities that are distinctive to  a specific person., i.e., no two people have the same character. They may have similar characters, but there is always at least one aspect of that character which makes it different from all the similar ones out there. Character is formed over time, so the activities you engage yourself in help in the formation of that character. If you train yourself to use good manners daily, it becomes a part of your character over time. Likewise, if you train yourself to curse every time someone wrongs you, that also becomes a part of your character. What you feed into your soul is what you will get out of it, and whatever you get out of it is classified as being your character.

In essence, personality and character are always changing, and can be created instantaneously. Character develops overtime from the various things you expose yourself to. When looking for friends, or someone to call a spouse, you should look for a good character, because character is the true self. Personality and reputation are just developed views of a person by society and self respectively.