Furthermore, character is not built negatively but positively. A
building can never be erected by merely keeping out of it all unworthy
material. There must be an actual putting together of brick and mortar,
and the great truth is evident that whenever a place is filled by the
good, the bad is in that very act kept out, whether in buildings or
character. The motive back of many a "don't" is worthy, and often there
may be no alternative but to instantly check an action, but for the
effect on character building there is a more excellent way than
repression. It lies in the expression suggested in the law of activity,
but expression under direction.

Some parents realize the necessity of allowing the child's activity to
be expended, but fail to see the other side of the matter, namely, that
while activity means development, the sort of development that follows
will depend on the character of the activity. It is important that a
boy's energy be given an outlet, but it is more important whether it
make of him a gentleman or a hoodlum. The guidance or neglect of the
activity will determine which it is to be.

Too frequent emphasis can not be put upon the fact that every outgoing
activity traces a little deeper some pathway that tends toward a habit.
The mistake is often made of thinking that habits can be formed only by
"taking thought." It is true that some of the finest habits of life are
built into character with painstaking effort, but untidiness and
selfishness and irreverence and all their kin reach fullest unfolding in
the thoughtless outflow of activity, when no one is attending.

But activity, untrammeled, means more than wrong habits. It means
lawlessness and undisciplined character. The child who has learned no
higher authority for his acts than his own erratic whims, has laid good