5 Situations that can reveal your true colors

Everyone tries to show their best character and wants to be seen as a “nice” person. However, we are all eventually faced with certain situations that bring out our “true colors” and it can change the perceptions people have of you.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t express our feelings. But by recognizing these situations you can learn to uncover a person’s true personality, and gauge whether they are sincere.

Most importantly, by acknowledging these situations you can learn to manage your own behavior and learn if you are really the person you stand for.

Here are 5 situations that reveal someone’s “true colors” and shed a light on what a person is really like:

1. While Traveling
Whether for work or pleasure, traveling can truly be a bonding experience and bring people closer together. You will get to know your traveling companions on a more personal level, and its wonderful. However, you have to realize that traveling puts people out of their comfort zone. Traveling can be an exciting adventure or be full of setbacks - I think 99% of all people have gone through this. Do they laugh about a setback and go with the flow? Or do they get angry, whine and bitterly complain? Or do they calmly find a solution? How a person handles the misadventures of traveling can tell a lot about how they handle stress, manage crises and keep a sense of humor.

2. When in an argument
Everyone is different has their own unique personalities. Because of this there will be always someone with a different point of view and there will be arguments! But how someone argues can reflect the truth of who they really are. Do they criticize, put-down or humiliate the other person? Do they stubbornly refuse to let the other person speak? These are signs of a person who does respect others and will be difficult to work with. Usually they are closed minded and feel that the only solution is their solution.

On the other hand a person can also be willing to listen and calmly finish a discussion. Not necessarily agree with the other person, but realize that the common goal is to reach a compromise. These people can work with others well and are respectful of other people’s ideas. Usually people who can argue in a calm and considerate manner, are more effective at solving problems.

3. In a Competition
Competition can bring out the best effort in all of us. It’s natural for someone to want to win and be better at doing something than the next person. Competition is a fact of life and really needs to happen for increasing the quality of the things we do. But the way someone competes and handles competition can really shine a light on their personality.

Do they take losing hard and not show respect to their fellow competitor? Do they rub it in when they win and humiliate the competitor? Of course, these are signs of someone who is not respectful and inconsiderate. Most importantly, this is a sign of insecurity.

A real winner should take their success gracefully and show class. Remember success speaks for itself.

4. Being sick with a cold
The cold/flu season is inevitable. It’s understandable that this will bring the worst out in people. However this is exactly why companies invented sick days. Being sick with a cold needs to be addressed and handled correctly: stay home, rest and perhaps take some medicine. How someone handless being sick can lead to show their sincerity.

Does a person go to work and refuse a sick day even when obviously sick? Do they use their sickness to get special treatment? Do they keep saying “I’m soo sick” as if they want to remind you? Usually, this person wants attention and leverages their sickness to manipulate people to get what they want.

5. In a Position of Power
Almost every day we are placed in a position of power. This usually happens when we become a customer. For example when we deal with waiters or talk to a customer service representative. We know that their jobs is to provide us with assistance and keep us happy. This allows us to act more demanding than normal.

Pay attention to how someone interacts with a customer service or the waiter. Do they belittle and scold them? Or do they demand for something completely out of the question? It’s important to note if a person exhibits a rude or elitist attitude when things don’t go along perfectly. This is a tell tale sign of how they will treat you, if you don’t meet their every demand.

… As you can see, the basic common factor are stress and how someone handles it. Pay attention to how someone acts in these situations, it can shed a light to their true colors as well as help you learn about your own behavior. Good luck.