You certainly are a character!

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln

One of my favorite quotes of all time. Many people think that when the "chips are down" is when our true colors emerge. Though adversity is a good measure of interpersonal relationships, real insight into a person's character comes when they're given "power."  In this entry I will present some scenarios with multiple choice answers. There is no "wrong" answer, as this is completely rhetorical.

1)You're at a party with your group of friends but your significant other was unable to come.  Your friends are playing drinking games and trying to pressure you into participating. You're tempted to give in but you remember that your guy/girl *hates* excessive drinking. Do you: 

a) Decline without hesitation. You're quite content without getting drunk.

b) Decline, but only on the basis that you don't want to make your guy/girl mad.

c) "What's the big deal? So long as they don't tell him..."

d)"Whatever! I do what I want!"

2)You're walking along in a major city when you see what appears to be a very wealthy man in front of you. While talking on a cell phone and digging around in his pocket you notice that he unknowingly drops a money clip containing a large wad of money. Would you:

a)Return the clip to him, reasoning that it's the most honest thing to do?

b)Return the clip to him, in hopes that you'll receive some sort of reward?

c)Keep it for yourself, reasoning that it's probably "chump change" to him anyway?

d)Keep it for yourself, justifying that he shouldn't have been so careless with that much money?

3)Your significant other is currently out of town and while you're sitting at home you receive a text message from your recent ex. (Your feelings toward this ex are completely non-romantic but personally you still find them very attractive.) The ex, knowing that your new guy/girl is out of pocket, asks if you'll spend time with them. Your response is:

a)Absolutely not. Under current circumstances, even an innocent hangout could damage my new relationship.

b)I don't see the problem with it, so long as we don't wind up alone somewhere.

c)Sure why not? What my guy/girl doesn't know won't hurt them...

4)Your ideal method for giving back to the community would be...

a)Spending time serving food at a food kitchen

b)Writing a check for charity

c)Volunteering for a crisis counseling hotline

d)Signing up for a big brother/big sister program

Note that all the scenarios give a certain amount of power, and what a person does with that power is indicative of possible character traits. How we choose to conduct our day-to-day lives via the choices we make are insight into our character. 


What kind of character are you? Do you know what you stand for from a moral perspective? Are things more of a black and white or is there a lot of grey? Though you may be a person who prides them self on being honest, how honest are you really? Would you trust yourself to the extent that you want others to trust you? 

I'd like to challenge you, the readers, to take hard look at yourself. We live so much of life on the go, but sometimes it's really important to stop and take a look at ourselves so that we can really know who we are. 

Food for thought :-)