Character is what remains consistent after convenience changes sides.

Values are cheap while they align with your interests. The test comes when convenience switches sides and honesty starts costing money, loyalty starts costing opportunity, or fairness starts costing you an advantage. Whatever remains after that shift is your actual character; the rest was just agreement with circumstance.

Think of a principle you hold and identify the situation in which it would become inconvenient. Then decide now, while it is still theoretical, what you would do. Deciding in advance is far more reliable than deciding in the moment, when the reasoning tends to bend toward whatever you want.