Personality

[thestrangequark]

This is a difficult question to answer. I don't ask people what they think of me, and people don't generally volunteer their opinions.

I consider myself to be a bit of an Absentminded Professor -- intelligent but distracted, a bit quirky. I am also extremely patient, and at once cynical and a bit of a bleeding heart.

I was recently told directly that I am very private which I suppose is true. There are two people to whom I tell pretty much everything, and very few others whom I tell much of anything. This doesn't mean that I am unfriendly or unkind, I just don't get close to many people.

My mother also told me she worried about me because I am "filled with so much self-loathing," which, unfortunately, is also a part of my personality: I am very critical of myself.

 

[RoJoHen]

At work, people often describe me as:

Helpful
A team player
Cheerful
A lumberjack
The Brawny Man
Hungry

Outside of work, my friends describe me as:

Douchebag
Assface
Lame
Boring
Impulsive
Unorganized
Financially irresponsible
Hungry

 

[Holdfast]

People IRL generally perceive me as:

Friendly & Polite
Charming (if I bother to turn it on), Aloof/Arrogant (if I don't bother)
Thoughtful & Reliable
Decisive & Confident
Laidback & Relaxed

Actually, I have strong narcissist tendencies with some histrionic and psychopathic traits but it's rare someone figures that out about me IRL because I'm good at reading situations and controlling them and not letting anybody get too close while still letting them think they are. It's more obvious online, though!

 

[Cornholio]

What words do people use to describe you?

umm, I think the two words I hear the most are "maniac" and "hippie".

And does it meet with how you see yourself?

pretty much right on target.

 

[Kestra]

and psychopathic traits

Really? Do tell.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

It's more obvious online, though!

Yeah, just looking at your avatar.

 

[john titor]

Awesome
Beautiful
Heroic
Manly
Buff
Beefy
Toned
Intelligent
Highly intelligent
Quarterback
Wingman
Hero
The messiah
Time traveller
Soldier
Warrior
Ladies man
Incredible
Legendary
Ace

 

[kimc]

Recently I've been called joyful.

I do know there are people in the world who can live with me on a sailboat for a week (multiple trips) without tossing me overboard. I take that as a positive.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I never ask people to describe me. I'm not that self centered.

Ditto. I've never asked family, friends, or co-workers what they think of me or how they see me. They may voluntarily say nice things to compliment, appreciate, or acknowledge me or something I did.

 

[Kemaiku]

Obsessive, Neurotic, Lethargic, Unstable, Sweet, Irratic, Morbid.

 

[Mary Ann]

I've been called friendly, helpful, humourous, intelligent, and kind. I'm pretty good at judging people and can adapt to different social situations, so most people don't meet my Inner Bitch unless they really tick me off. I'm not nearly as confident and most people think I am, and am actually an introvert.

 

[Jadzia]

The descriptions I hear most are that I am thoughtful, kind, clever, organised, and very patient.

That last one is something I struggle to understand, because I am judged as being a lot more patient than I see myself being. Perhaps patience isn't something that is felt; it is just an absence of impatience. And if that is the case, then I agree.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

The descriptions I hear most are that I am thoughtful, kind, clever, organised, and very patient.

That last one is something I struggle to understand, because I am judged as being a lot more patient than I see myself being. Perhaps patience isn't something that is felt; it is just an absence of impatience. And if that is the case, then I agree.

I think I understand this. In one previous job I was in a work area which other colleagues were finding very hard to work in because of the stress by other staff and the workload, and one person asked me how I could manage to show so much patience and restraint. The simple answer was, away from the figurative cameras, I couldn't.

 

[Jadzia]

But cameras or not, I rarely feel impatient about things. I just don't think that patience has a feeling, so is not readily recognizable to me as I look inward.

 

[RoJoHen]

I think lack of impatience is a decent definition for patience. Willingness to wait for things. Not getting annoying if things take longer than expected or if they don't go according to plan. Being able to fix problems without getting irritated.

 

[Holdfast]

and psychopathic traits

Really? Do tell.

Oh, not in the violent/dangerous colloquial sense, of course. The traits are not expressed to that degree; I have excellent impulse control and a well-developed contigency planning streak rendering it unnecessary. As well as being aware of the realities (and unrealities...) of the world. More in the somewhat cold, controlling & manipulative sense if a problem arises in my path. The positive traits that others ascribe to me that I listed in my earlier post largely arise not out of some emotional core ("the milk of human kindness") but because they just happen to be the techniques that work best in creating an environment and lifestyle I'm happy to live in. If other techniques worked better, I'd probably be equally happy using them. But they don't, so I don't (that's what I mean by being very aware of the realities of the world).

 

[An Officer]

I don't really know what others think of my personality. I am probably different things to different people. I am sure some would not hesitate to describe me as a hard-faced bitch, and others such as my younger siblings would say I am a pushover playmate. We're all probably too complex and chameleon-like to be captured within a few short words. And it's always difficult to make the distinction between what we would like to be perceived as, and how we are actually perceived.

 

[Jadzia]

I think lack of impatience is a decent definition for patience. Willingness to wait for things. Not getting annoying if things take longer than expected or if they don't go according to plan. Being able to fix problems without getting irritated.

I agree with most of those; I'm not very impatient. But there are a small number of tasks that do irritate me so much that I just can't do them. These are tasks that involve focusing on something excessively tedious, like scraping off old wallpaper a square millimeter at a time. Also the digital equivalent of changing the colour of a hundred isolated pixels in an image.

Fortunately those kind of tasks are usually avoidable, and I'll get someone else to do it for me.

But other tasks that involve dexterity and small focus don't really bother me, like sewing something, or replacing a battery in a watch, or wiring a plug. The difference is that these tasks are not excessively tedious.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Kind, thoughful, supportive, fun ~ from friends.
Innovative, accomplished, moany in an amusing way ~ at work.
Clever, witty, strong, outgoing ~ from Man.
A complete control freak pain in the arse ~ from Son. I like this one best

Do they sum me up ~ yeah mostly, including the last

 

[thestrangequark]

and psychopathic traits

Really? Do tell.

Oh, not in the violent/dangerous colloquial sense, of course. The traits are not expressed to that degree; I have excellent impulse control and a well-developed contigency planning streak rendering it unnecessary. As well as being aware of the realities (and unrealities...) of the world. More in the somewhat cold, controlling & manipulative sense if a problem arises in my path. The positive traits that others ascribe to me that I listed in my earlier post largely arise not out of some emotional core ("the milk of human kindness") but because they just happen to be the techniques that work best in creating an environment and lifestyle I'm happy to live in. If other techniques worked better, I'd probably be equally happy using them. But they don't, so I don't (that's what I mean by being very aware of the realities of the world).

But this is where one delves into the philosophy of it all: is the un-virtuous man who behaves virtuously any less virtuous than the virtuous man?

Personally, I prefer ice cream to philosophy, though.