15 things men with outstanding character never do

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There are certain lines that men of integrity just won’t cross. 

Ever. 

Here’s a look: 

The most important things that men with outstanding character never do. 

1) Abuse or mistreat anybody

The first of the top things men with outstanding character never do is abuse somebody who loves them. 

A man of integrity will never physically, sexually, verbally or emotionally abuse anybody.

No matter how frustrated he is, or how much he believes somebody else is being annoying or unfair, a man of character will never stoop to that level. 

Abuse and mistreatment is not in his playbook. 

Ever. 

2) Betray a business partner 

Next up in things men with outstanding character never do is betray a business partner. 

No matter how big the rewards might be, they will never stab a colleague in the back. 

Even if they could double their income by stealing an idea or going above somebody to get a commendation from the boss, the man of character doesn’t do it.

Life’s short, and these kinds of things tend to come back to bite you. 

Plus: 

What type of guy would he be if it became normal to backstab those we work with? 

3) Cheat on a romantic partner 

Cheating might be more and more common, but it’s not something a man of character ever does. 

If he’s in a committed relationship then that’s that. 

There’s no flirting with others, no sexting, no porn that’s not mutual as a couple, and no cheating. 

Ever. 

Will he be tempted? Maybe. 

But if he truly wants to cheat he’ll break up before doing something behind the back of someone he loves. 

4) Defend a bully 

You can get pretty far in life by defending bullies:

Siding with the angry boss who has a lot of money and power…

Siding with these types of people who throw their weight around and who everyone wants on their side but who don’t actually treat others very well…

Men of outstanding character don’t do this. 

In fact, men of true integrity have no time for bullies. 

Display aggressive and bullying behavior in their vicinity and you’ll be lucky to get away with all your teeth. 

5) Erase the contributions of others

The next of the big things men with outstanding character never do is erase the contributions of others. 

They celebrate the wins of those around them and never seek to diminish or take away the accomplishments of other people. 

Trying to minimize recognition of others is a very insecure behavior, and confident men of integrity are secure and have no need to downsize others. 

6) Force somebody to agree with them

Another thing men with outstanding character never do is force somebody to agree with him. 

Even if he argues passionately in defense of a certain position or view, the man of integrity will never force others to agree. 

Doing so would just be a loss, anyway. 

If you have to force somebody to believe something, their sincerity is doubtful. 

Plus, you’re a bully if you do that. 

7) Gaslight and mislead people 

Next up in the worst things men with outstanding character never do is gaslight and mislead people. 

Leave this to abusive boyfriends and crooked salesman. 

You won’t find a man of integrity anywhere near this kind of behavior. 

He knows that playing the victim and manipulating others is the behavior of a low-class thug and loser. 

No thanks! 

8) Hate others based on outer labels

Aside from never gaslighting and manipulating others, men with outstanding character also never do this – hate others based on outer labels. 

Don’t get me wrong:

A man of integrity is sometimes driven to hate, particularly those who have directly harmed or betrayed him or those he loves. 

But he doesn’t hate based on outer characteristics. 

He treats everyone as an individual and gets to know somebody and hear what they have to say before passing any judgment on them. 

9) Invent fantasies to make up for disappointment 

The next of the key things men with outstanding character never do is invent fantasies to cope with real life. 

There’s a lot of power in imagination and works of fiction like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia have become timeless favorites. 

But literature or art is different than trying to escape or deny the present through fantasy or daydreaming. 

Men of character face life head-on and never try to dream it away.

10) Joke about violence or sadism towards other people

Men of character never joke at the expense of people in cruel or violent ways. 

They don’t stand onstage and joke about murdering their political opponents, for example.

Joking about physically harming those you disagree with is sickening and sad.

Men of character don’t traffic in this kind of stuff.

This brings up the next point…

11) Kill or harm an innocent person

Hopefully, you never have to kill anyone whatsoever. But if you do, it would presumably be in self-defense or while they posed a direct threat to your life. 

Men of character avoid unnecessary violence and don’t ever harm an innocent person in any way. 

They go out of their way to prevent violence and bloodshed whenever possible, and they don’t find the harm or suggested harm of any innocent person to be an object of laughter or ever remotely acceptable. 

12) Lie to cover up their own wrongdoing

You know what else men with outstanding character never do? Lie to cover up their own wrongdoing. 

If they made a mistake, they fess up to it and come clean. 

Hiding your mistakes and lying to pretend you never did something wrong is so tiresome and weak. 

Plus it almost always never works in the long-run. 

13) Make money by exploiting others

This may be a controversial point, depending on your belief, since capitalism arguably works partly by exploiting others and keeping the price of labor as low as possible.

But to the best of his ability, the man of outstanding character does not make money by exploiting others. 

He doesn’t invest in weapons stocks or Big Pharma companies that are profiting from ineffective or harmful drugs, nor does he work for or supervise businesses that harm and exploit others. 

When faced with the chance of getting rich from manipulating and exploiting others, the man of character would rather be poor than sacrifice his soul. 

14) Nap and procrastinate their life away

It’s so easy to put things off for tomorrow.

But there are only so many “tomorrows” in each of our lives. 

And eventually they run out and we’re left looking back at what we either did or did not do. 

That’s why men of character never procrastinate and nap their life away. 

Sure, they know how to take a break and have a nice siesta now and then!

But they aren’t spending their life oversleeping and being lazy. 

15) Overlook those closest to them 

Last and very importantly in the things men with outstanding character never do is overlook those closest to them. 

Some of my worst regrets come from not appreciating people close to me enough. 

It’s easy to take folks for granted when they’re always around. 

But men of character always value their family and those who love them and try to spend as much quality time with them as possible when they’re around. 

Don’t cross these lines

If you want to be a man of outstanding character, I applaud your effort. 

Look closely at the 15 things above and make sure never to do them. 

Life can tempt us with the wrong path all too often, but don’t heed the siren’s song. 

Don’t cross these lines.

You’ll be glad you stuck by your principles. 

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