We at Faith-Centered Mentoring and More are building some character assessment tools. Their aim is to help you, us, and other people take a “snapshot” of the status of your/our/their different character attributes or traits, which we call Character Markers™.

Try this very simple character assessment. See if it helps you take aim at a few Markers you’d like to improve.

Directions: Below are 15 Character Markers. For each Marker, place only one checkmark in a column. (If you don’t understand a Marker, check the last column to the right.) If at all possible, put your checkmark in one of the other four columns:

1. My Definite Character Strengths

2. My Possible Character Strengths on which to Build

3. My Possible Development Areas

4. My Definite Character Development Areas

(Note: these 15 Markers are from a larger Christ-Centered Character Domain developed by CARS (Character Assessment, Research, and Solutions.)

Now, select 1-3 Character Markers on which you’d like to set development goals for the next few months. One of your goals could be to leverage or improve even more one of your Strengths. Another could be to work on a Marker or two that you definitely know require more development.

Keep a record of your selections and chart your progress for the next few months. In January 2007, we’ll tell you about a more structured character assessment tool we’re now testing. We’ll also describe strategies and resources that can help you tackle your character improvement goals. Meanwhile, let us know which Markers most interest you. Email us: CARS@faithmentoringandmore.com.

For more ideas on thriving, see What We Offer and our Archive.