2 Things Always Bring Out A Person’s True Character
“People don’t change you just get to know them better”
A wise older man once told me, “If you want to see someone’s true colors, give him money or power.” According to him, those two never fail to bring out a person’s true character.
And by “power,” he meant influence, privilege, responsibility, etc. He said it is only then that you get to see most people as they really are because they put people in positions where they can afford not to be nice, humble, or considerate.
How they affect people
The two tend to remove inhibitions and filters that normally shield the parts of people they have learned to keep hidden. It is said alcohol has that ability too, but then people can always blame it on the booze afterward.
“They put people in positions where they can afford not to be nice, humble, or considerate.”
The change is not always bad
Mind you, not all “change” is for the worse. Empowered individuals can afford to be more confident, optimistic, and creative. They can also be more driven and resilient toward taking on challenges.
Money or power will also enable people who have always had certain admirable personal values or have always been passionate about certain good causes to act on those passions or promote those values. People who have had certain life experiences can also afford to be the change they have always wished for themselves and for others.
Money and power don’t just show us who people really are, sometimes they can show us who they can be. So some changes are welcome changes.
More good news: the maturity principle.
All is not lost when money or power happens to someone you know and they morph into someone you barely recognize or like a little less. With time they can change.
Psychologists note that, to varying degrees, personalities can develop positively with age.
They attribute this change to something called, “the maturity principle”. This means, for example, as a person ages, he/she can be more agreeable more responsible, and more emotionally stable.
Hence money and power don’t change people, they merely amplify what was already there, to begin with.
“Money and power don’t just show us who people really are, sometimes they can show us who they can be.”
