--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character — the willingness to accept…" description: "\"“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.”\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_1681055.jpg" --- # Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for… ![“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_1681055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_1681055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_1681055.jpg) > ““Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.”” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self-respect stems from taking personal responsibility for one's life, implying that character is built on accountability. **In simple terms:** Responsibility for one's life builds self-respect. Key Takeaway Own your choices to strengthen character. Themes responsibility self-respect character personal growth Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical self-help When to use this quote - career decisions - parenting - self-improvement workshops Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities define you? - How do you balance self-care with accountability? A Different Perspective Responsibility can be overwhelming if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life — is the source from which self-respect springs. Self-respect is something that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/character-the-willingness-to-accept-responsibility-for-one-s-own-life/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [People with self-respect exhibit a certain toughness, a kind of moral nerve; they display what was once called \*character,\* a quality which, although approved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/people-with-self-respect-exhibit-a-certain-toughness-a-kind-of-moral/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-willingness-to-accept-responsibility-for-one-s-own-life-is-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The moment you accept responsibility for EVERYTHING in your life, is the moment you gain the power to change ANYTHING in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/the-moment-you-accept-responsibility-for-everything-in-your-life-is/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [Until you accept responsibility for your life, someone else runs your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/until-you-accept-responsibility-for-your-life-someone-else-runs-your/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [Forgive others, forgive yourself, forgive yourself for not being perfect, and accept responsibility for your own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/forgive-others-forgive-yourself-forgive-yourself-for-not-being/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Sometimes the only obstacle to your own peace and happiness is yourself. Let go of past hurts and blame. Accept responsibility for your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/sometimes-the-only-obstacle-to-your-own-peace-and-happiness-is/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I can accept no responsibility for any changes in your existence, miraculous or otherwise. You must take responsibility for your own life. You must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/i-can-accept-no-responsibility-for-any-changes-in-your-existence/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [I grow spiritually when I accept responsibility for my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/i-grow-spiritually-when-i-accept-responsibility-for-my-life/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [I'm convinced that a lot of people simply don't know what's available out there and how it is possible to find a job and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-convinced-that-a-lot-of-people-simply-don-t-know-what-s-available/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accept-responsibility-for-your-life-know-that-it-is-you-who-will-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I sincerely believe that there is nothing truly great in any man or woman except their character, their willingness to move beyond the realm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzie-smith/i-sincerely-believe-that-there-is-nothing-truly-great-in-any-man-or/) [Ozzie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzie-smith/) > [And whatever our faith - whatever our faith, one belief should bind us all: The measure of our character is our willingness to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-whatever-our-faith-whatever-our-faith-one-belief-should-bind-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ethics is in its unqualified form extended responsibility to everything that has life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/ethics-is-in-its-unqualified-form-extended-responsibility-to/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-happiest-people-in-the-world-are-those-who-feel-absolutely/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. 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