Nobody is going to be perfect, even if they are trying to be perfect, and really want to be perfect, they just aren't going to be perfect; for it isn't possible, not even for one day, to attain that perfection. Still, we can accomplish pretty much the same goal by simply being good one to another, by demonstrating patience, concern, generosity, caring, fairness, justice, and compassion in our interactions with those that we collaborate with day-by-day. The thing is though, knowing what is the right thing to do, and thereupon executing upon it, consistently, is something that most of us need to improve upon, for we often fall short of that noblest of goals.
Most of the trouble that we get ourselves into, really involves our not being able to have the strength of character to hold the line in being good, but rather we give into weakness by letting our pride or our ego or our bad behavior to just get the better of us and therefore to subsequently do bad, rather than good. Further to the point, it isn't good enough to be good, twenty-three hours out of the day, if that other hour, is one in which we are absolutely horrible in our behavior, for those bad deeds so done, can wipe absolutely clean the slate of the good cheer that we previously so spread.
So then, in consideration that since we aren't going to be perfect, the next best thing to aim to accomplish is to make those decisions that are beneficial for us as well as for those that we interact with, which therefore collectively serves to fairly define us as human beings. So too, since it is inevitable that each one of us is going to fall somewhat short of what we really need to so attain, the important thing is to not only keep dusting ourselves off when we fall down, but to make it our point, to do better, day-by-day, so that therefore when we get to that fork in the road, we definitively take the right turn, and vow therefore to never look back, again.
Further, it is fair to state, just knowing what is right and knowing what is wrong, does not make a person's character good; for it is in the actual practice of the discipline to consistently do the right thing, that defines whether someone is in reality, good. In truth, those that are good, are the type of people that have the self-respect and wisdom to not negatively react to situations, that a lesser person, by their poor judgment, would typically fall victim to. Those of good character are willing to make a personal sacrifice, if need be, in order to maintain their focus on doing the right thing, by therefore keeping their ego and poor judgment under their control.
Ultimately, we are only as good as what we actually do, for the choice of being good is ours to make; for as free will beings, the only real question is actually how bad do we want to be good. The answer to that question, will be result of our life, fairly weighed through the impartial scales of wise justice, and of which ultimately those scales will favor one side or the other.