“A person is characterized not only by what he does, but also by the way he does it.” Friedrich Engels.
“A person is characterized not only by what she does, but also by the way she does it” - this phrase, which was subsequently included in the list of best quotes and aphorisms, was expressed by the German philosopher, one of the founders of Marxism, part-time friend and like-minded K. Marx, by Friedrich Engels. But why did he think so? Is it really necessary to not only perform some actions, but also seriously think about how we do this or what “methods” we use to achieve our goal? To answer all these questions, you must first think about what is the hallmark of "personality", in other words, what is the definition of this concept. From the social science point of view, personality is a relatively stable system of individual behavior, built primarily on the basis of inclusion in the social context. In other words, this is a person who has special qualities formed in the process of his communication with other people (the ability to make decisions independently, determination, organizational abilities, the ability to formulate his point of view and be able to uphold it).
But are all people personalities? Apparently not. Each person is individual, yes. But not everyone who has lived a long enough life, still managed to become a full-fledged person. Nowadays, unfortunately, you can often hear how someone in a conversation uses similar expressions in relation to their interlocutor, or maybe not just one, - "... you are not a person!" and the like. At the same time, there is a downside. What do they usually say about that person whose distinctive features are independence in actions, the ability to control one’s own behavior, a clear manifestation of willpower, that is, a reflection in oneself of what is included in the earlier definition of the concept of “personality”? They speak of him as a "mature personality." Yes, because he actually proved it.
Now, perhaps, the time has come to return to the statement taken as a topic for this essay. We decided that it is extremely important to take action, since this is crucial in building our personality. But is it really so important, “how do we do it”? Very important. I completely agree with the philosopher. After all, a person is a person because he consciously performs certain actions. For clarity, you can use the example of even the most reasonable animal from the point of view of people. No matter how smart it may be, no matter what abilities it reveals, it will never be called a person. Why? Because everything that it does is dictated by instincts. These are not conscious decisions. Even from this position, the correctness of his words is already becoming apparent. In addition, the phrase has already been given above, which included the concept of “independence”. What decisions are an indicator of personality? Those that a person takes on their own. Yes. He may be guided by some sources from outside, but the acts committed by him are still a “product” of his own mental activity.
This is just one of the sides from which one can approach this statement of F. Engels. As they say, how many people, so many opinions. And in this diversity, the individuality of each of us individually is also manifested, which, in turn, is a kind of help in the formation of our personality.