25 October 2018

Character Flaw

Remember that scene from Simran where she asks her fiancé if he has any character flaws? He replies saying if she had a boyfriend, he wasn’t going to hold it against her. And she quips, “Having a boyfriend is not a character flaw. If anything, it takes skill to flirt. My character flaw is I am addicted to gambling and stealing.”
The dictionary tells you a violent temper is a character flaw because it affects the person’s actions. So a flaw is something of an imperfection, a limitation. If you look at Shakespearean heroes, each of them had a distinctive flaw that defined them and ultimately, destroyed them. Othello was suspicious, Hamlet indecisive and King Lear loved flattery.

One of my character flaws is (oh yes, I have many. Not a Shakespearean heroine to have just one!) I keep quiet in situations where I know I should have spoken. Keeping quiet is my undoing. But I keep quiet, nonetheless. And regret it to eternity! I keep quiet when a friend or family member or even an acquaintance (just realized that the category ‘friends/family/acquaintances’ – practically covers the entire world) hurts me or says mean words, or throws sarcastic comments, or insults, or generally behaves badly. I keep quiet thinking, if I speak, things will turn ugly; there will be a full blown war and the relationship will end.

I know. I know. It is a stupid logic. It never works. That is why it is my most potent flaw.

I keep quiet till I can keep quiet no more. No more could be in terms of months and years! It depends - a) on the person or the kind of relationship I share with him/her: close family/dear friend/close friend or colleague of the spouse b) how long have I known the person: couple of meetings, random encounters, or repeated interactions.

I keep quiet for so long that I can’t take it any longer.  It’s too much negativity to take in. I lose sleep over it. I think I got this trait from my mother. Or it’s just that we both are Aquarians. According to Sigmund Freud “unexpressed emotions never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways. An outburst of anger is the outward expression of inner pain that has been silenced for far too long.” Trust the experts. He is right. All that buried frustration and pent up anger just explodes like a volcano one day. And then, what I feared the most, all along, from the first instance, actually happens. The relationship ends. For the longest time, I thought why did I leave behind so many friends and why did so many leave me?  The blame falls on me for the end. I become the ‘bad’ person who spoilt a good thing. The silence costs me my name and my respect.

But I never learn. Another relationship, another hurt, another silence, another outburst.

A research states that humans are wired to forgive. It is a problem. This ‘maaf kardo’ mind-set is why some people continue to stay in bad relationships. Humans have a tendency to give others a benefit of the doubt. We forgive even when we have evidence that they don’t deserve it. We do so because people sometimes behave badly by accident. We think we may be mistaken. If we act on negative impressions too soon, we might miss out on the many benefits of social connection and end a relationship abruptly.

Now, that’s some strong research backing my character flaw!

18 comments:

  1. I like this article. No one is perfect and everyone has multiple flaws. We just discuss the flaws that we know others have noticed. I too keep silent and ignore in 2 situations. One where my family is involved. and One where I just dont give a single fuck. But the silence in the former situation can be detrimental. Instead of getting it off our chest, we kind of let go major err made by others in the hope of not causing ripples in the pond. Anyways, made me think of my flaws.But I have chosen some of these flaws and left them that way. Kind of think of it as my unique personality. Hehehe.

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    1. Yeah ..not wanting to cause ripples ...and then ending up with a storm...
      Unique personality...hahaha

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  2. A nicely written piece.We generally tend to react at a perceived insult,hurt or insinuation by showing our disagreement in words or by action like nodding our heads.It is possible where the other person is closely related, long time friend,a boss or a respected elder we may choose to ignore and be silent.But if such incidents repeat,we should express politely but firmly that it is not acceptable.
    I agree with penultimate para of your post.

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  3. Though sometimes keeping quiet is a blessing also, but my daughter always tells me that you keep quiet too long and then burst in a volcano,,haha

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  4. I have the same flaw - keeping quiet, but I feel it stems out of fear. Fear that speaking up might upset someone or whatever. If we indeed forgave every single time, then things wouldn't build up and they wouldn't blow up one fine day, would they?

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    1. Agree with you.
      We let go for that moment but it's not complete or real forgiveness. It festers in the mind.
      And the fear aspect...agree with that too.

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  5. I have found that people who have done me wrong expect me to apologize. Even though when there is any fault of mine, I say sorry and mean it. I have no qualms to say it. However 'Sorry' seems to be a heavy word for most people and it is a question of ego to say it.

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    1. absolutely Anita! that happens a lot!

      apologies for responding so late!

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  6. I think I relate to it. But I also feel that I prefer choosing my battles. I'd not fight them all, 'cause my inner peace is worth more. I think being a lawyer by profession has taught me that.

    Its nice to have stumbled across your blog! Sending you my best during this holiday season!

    xx

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    1. sorry for the delay in responding to your comment. i am almost a month late!

      thanks for reading me

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  7. True, anger is the expression of inner pain.Nicely analyzed the flaws in our character.

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  8. I like your writing. Didn't find anything new.

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    1. Sigh ! Yes Sarala not writing from a long time :(

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  9. Perfection is just a word which is found only in 'almost form', not in perfect mode. Everyone has one or more character flaws, which one tries to cover or justify in front of others.A well thought article ,Sujatha. Once I had read it.Revised now. No new posts? I too go busy at some periods of time

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