The three tests of character

Have you ever heard of this personality test called the DISC profiling? Well, based on this method of profiling, an individual's characteristics are divided into 4 parts (the terms are what I choose to describe each characteristics in a nutshell):

1. The Mask 
- An image one portraits for the world to see. An image one would like the world to perceive him/her to be.

2. The Perception 
- The image one sees himself to be. An image which one forms and thinks of himself being as such.

3. The View
- The image people really see in a person. Could be very different from The Mask and The Perception

4. The Truth
- Who the individual really is. The true character of oneself developed through nature and nurture.

So, with these 4 factors which pretty much clothes one's personality, how do we tell The Mask from The Truth?

This gets even trickier when searching for a life partner. Some people may be very good at upholding their Mask, so much so that it takes an exceptionally long time to discover The Truth. But as we all know, the truth will always reveal itself in the end. Thing is, do you really want to wait that long for that can of worms to be reveled?

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend who presented me this pretty cool concept. We could actually identify the character of a person with 3 tests. Okay, hold your horses. This is not a hard and fast rule that you should keep as your bible for relationships, but, I think it's a pretty cool idea to keep at the back of your head in order to steer clear of potentially disastrous relationships. My friend who introduced this idea to me is now happily married to a very wonderful woman. Thus, my sharing this train of thought with you today.

The 3 tests of character consists of 1 key word : Observation.

1. Observe the spending habits
A person's spending habits will tell a lot about his/her priorities. Open your eyes, observe.

2. Observe the person when traveling
Traveling puts us all out of our comfort zones. True, we could be having the time of our lives in some gorgeous island in the Maldives, yet anywhere away from home is out of our comfort zone. How does the person behave in such situations? Open your eyes, observe.

3. Observe the person when living together
Before your shoot me down for talking about living together, STOP. Living together does not equate to cohabitation. Staying under the same roof reveals a lot about a person's behavioral patterns when he is alone. Open your eyes, observe.

There is no right or wrong in a person's behavior, yet these 3 simple tests could potentially help identify whether or not you are able to live with the endearing or quirky truths.