--- 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. Self-respect is something tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_941290.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. Self-respect is something that our grandparents, whether or not they had it, knew all about. They had instilled in them, young, a certain discipline, the sense that one lives by…” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_941290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_941290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/joan-didion-497_character_character-the-willingness-to-accept-resp_941290.jpg) > ““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 grandparents, whether or not they had it, knew all about. They had instilled in them, young, a certain discipline, the sense that one lives by doing things one does not particularly want to do, by putting fears and doubts to one side, by weighing immediate comforts against the possibility of larger, even intangible, comforts.”” [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. Accepting personal responsibility builds self‑respect, rooted in disciplined actions that outweigh comfort for deeper fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Responsibility creates self‑respect. Key Takeaway Own your choices, act despite discomfort. Themes responsibility self‑respect discipline growth Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - parenting - health habits - education - leadership Key Concepts personal agency moral development inner strength Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal duty with self‑care? - What habits reinforce your sense of responsibility? A Different Perspective Self‑respect also needs external support and realistic expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life — is the source from which self-respect springs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/character-the-willingness-to-accept-responsibility-for-one-s-own-life-2/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Show some respect. They were your grandparents. -Batman Just names and dusty frames on the wall to me. -Damien I take exception to that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-tomasi/show-some-respect-they-were-your-grandparents-batman-just-names-and/) Peter J. Tomasi > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [To assign unanswered letters their proper weight, to free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves--there lies the great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-assign-unanswered-letters-their-proper-weight-to-free-us-from-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/self-respect-is-a-question-of-recognizing-that-anything-worth-having/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“The dismal fact is that self-respect has nothing to do with the approval of others — who are, after all, deceived easily enough; has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/the-dismal-fact-is-that-self-respect-has-nothing-to-do-with-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Although to be driven back upon oneself is an uneasy affair at best, rather like trying to cross a border with borrowed credentials, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/although-to-be-driven-back-upon-oneself-is-an-uneasy-affair-at-best/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“He meant doing things not because we were expected to do them or had always done them or should do them but because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/he-meant-doing-things-not-because-we-were-expected-to-do-them-or-had/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Self-respect,--the corner-stone of all virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-herschel/self-respect-the-corner-stone-of-all-virtue/) [John Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-herschel/) > [Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-hayes/any-time-you-give-a-man-something-he-doesn-t-earn-you-cheapen-him-our/) [Woody Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-hayes/) > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) ## 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. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Character — the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life — is the source from which self-respect springs. 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