The central tenet of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is that how we think about things has a strong bearing on the decisions we make and the actions we take.

Developing character is a very delicate social process that requires time, energy, a strong family unit, and powerful community support structures.

Neurotics have a big sense of right and wrong, set high standards for themselves, and sometimes proverbially carry the world on their shoulders. In contrast, disturbed and disordered characters have a remarkably impaired, immature, or underdeveloped conscience. In some extreme cases, conscience can be absent altogether and even the capacity to form a conscience nonexistent.

The antics of Charlie Sheen, Bernie Madoff, and Mel Gibson demonstrate why character really does matter. As I state in the title of one of my books, character disturbance is the phenomenon of our age.

Trying too hard to get the other person to understand inevitably leads those in relationships with responsibility-deficient characters to feel angry, frustrated, and ultimately depressed and defeated.