Are there real people? 5 keys to identify them

Taking a look at what we know about our history, It seems that human beings have always wanted to appear more than what we are. Both through the exaggeration of the characteristics that define us and through the invention of features that, deep down, do not characterize us. This occurs on a collective level, as seen for example in the great monuments designed to impress, but also, and this is the most painful of all, on an individual level.

And I say that it is painful because, beyond how bad it can be for certain people who live by and to pretend what they are not, vanity is actually something that prevents us from knowing people. A barrier that keeps us separate, where it exists to a greater or lesser extent.

And this becomes a problem when we ask ourselves the key question ...

Who is safe from vanity?

When we have to make quick decisions about who to direct our attention to, many times we end up giving in to the possibility of judging through appearances and clichés and favor people who wrap their identity in them. We like authentic people more, but we opt for those who live off the image.

Yes, authenticity is not characterized by having been very abundant years ago, but there are those who say that today authentic people are in critical danger of extinction. The motives? Show culture, the importance of image over content, the dictatorship of fast consumption. These are principles that seem to belong to the field of advertising, marketing and markets, but that increasingly invade the realm of the human, the personal.

Being honest pays dearly

Not only is vain behavior positively reinforced. Honesty is also punished. It is logical, if you take into account that many studies show that a large part of professional success also depends on our personal image. It occurs in practically any field of work, but it is somewhat extreme in the case of professions in which aesthetics are decisive.

In certain social networks such as Instagram you can see how there is a speculation bubble based on aesthetics. We saw it in the case of the model Stina Sanders and the scandal that was formed when she started uploading selfies without makeup, or in the case of Essena O'Neill.

How to recognize authentic people?

Given what we have seen, it is not surprising that authentic people can be difficult to find: they are buried under a barrage of social dynamics that invite them to stop acting as they do.

However, with a little dedication and practice it is possible to recognize someone whose way of being and acting is consistent with their way of thinking.

Knowing these basic characteristics can help to vindicate this way of understanding life and, in addition, to self-evaluate to see if you are succeeding in linking personal development to the conquest of an authentic personality.

What people are really authentic? Its basic characteristics are as follows.

1. They don't constantly think about their image

This is possibly its most defining trait. Of course, everything is relative, so authentic people can come to spontaneously think about how they are seen by others, but this does not become an obsessive loop.

This means, for example, that they rarely ask for a second opinion about their appearance, and that they do not care to appear indifferent towards their image, something that ironically could happen if they ascribed in a very rigid or dogmatic to an aesthetic current that by pure conventionalism we associate with carefreeness and the alternative (hipters, punks, etc.).

2. They do not force their non-verbal language

This is a practical consequence that follows from the previous feature. People who try to adopt a very impossive tone of voice and movements are relatively easy to recognize, because it is difficult to a lot of work to learn a series of movement patterns that do not correspond to those that we have been learning and using since our childhood.

In this way, your nonverbal language it's natural and you will not see them trying to pretend what they are not.

3. They are not afraid to show their opinions

Authentic people They speak as freethinkers, and will clearly express their ideas even if they may seem very radical or strange. The motives? They know that in most spaces the free expression of their ideas will not give them serious problems, and therefore they do not give up taking advantage of the possibilities offered by a good conversation with someone.

This makes them good conversationalists, although their reflections can sometimes cause controversy among those accustomed to a politically correct line of argument.

4. They try to understand others

Leave behind misunderstood vanity and pride It also implies, to a greater or lesser extent, give up clichés and stereotypes to try to "read someone's mind" that is not known very well.

Where other people throw in the towel, excusing themselves in the belief that they already know what the other is like, the Authentic people take on the challenge of matching their way of understanding reality with those of their interlocutors.

5. Do not prejudge

Authentic people are not very fond of making decisions based on how their possible options are presented to them. For this reason, they like to re-examine what happens to them, taking into account what things are objective and what are, simply, biases and prejudices arbitrarily manufactured by others.

This does not mean that to be authentic you cannot be someone impulsive, but that you do not fall for easy judgments and question the prevailing opinions. What they call "rebellious spirit."