7 Characteristics of a private person
Private life is a happy life. The fewer people know about you, the less they can say about you.
So, what characteristics do you have if you consider yourself to be a private person?
- You avoid being in the spotlight.
To someone with a private personality, the idea of being the centre of attention is odious. This may be the opposite of today’s trend, in which everyone brags about their accomplishments on social media, and share the smallest details of their lives with the world to gain recognition and acceptance as a means of self-validation.
However, if you’re a private person, it’s not hard to go against the oversharing tide on social media. This is a natural behaviour for someone who is shy and likes to live in the shadows. Where others thrive on praise from their peers with pride and cheers of admiration, while a private person shies away from such public attention.
2. You think before you speak.
Others may believe that the only way to have a ‘presence’ in a competitive world and to validate their own life, is to share every waking thoughts, pouring out a wave of knowledge about themselves, whether it is relevant or not just to be heard.
A private person like yourself, on the other hand, considers their words carefully, and only reveals the most basic details. It is only when you have faith in someone then you will reveal any more about your private life, and only to their loved ones.
3. You trust only a few people.
Even the most private person normally has an extremely small number of dependable people whom they trust implicitly. This trust doesn’t come easily, since it’s more often than not issues of past betrayals which have led you to guard personal information about your own life so closely.
4. You avoid answering interfering questions.
You have turned this into an art. You’re so good at deflecting unwanted questions that the person with whom you’re speaking doesn’t even realize you didn’t answer their question adequately. You know from bitter experience that revealing too much about your life often ends up with people criticizing your decisions.
Even if you have precisely asked for some details to be kept private, you know that there’s a fair possibility that this person will share your secrets with others. You have learnt that it’s better to keep your secrets to avoid being disappointed or let down by untrustworthy people.
5. People’s secrets are safe with you.
You’re not only good at keeping your secrets safe, but you also use this well-honed ability to keep privileged information about others under wraps.
This makes you a loyal and trusted friend because you will never betray someone’s trust or start gossiping about them behind their back. You respect other people’s privacy and in return you expect them to treat yours with the same consideration.
6. Your boundaries are strong.
Few things make you feel more vulnerable than having people creeping into your life. When you realize this way, you will go to great distances to protect your boundaries.
Curious people and interfering questions may be intolerable to you but, by the same indication, you will never interfere in other people’s business either. You understand other people’s rights to keep their privacy.
You have a certain things of your life that you may be willing to share with others but a whole lot more than you prefer to keep private. You’re in control of the topics which you’re comfortable speaking about, and are an emperor of choosing carefully both the words you use and to whom you speak.
7. You unplug yourself from social media.
I’m not saying you don’t use social media at all, but you’re not going to be an oversharing person. Endless personal status updates and posting lots of pictures, showcasing your entire life on Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook is not for you.
If you use social media you ensure that you reveal the minimum about your private life. You emphasise more on your privacy rather than attaining public attention.
