Rebuilding Rob

I like to think that I am a good judge of character.

Here’s the thing: we are all going to have those times in life, where people exceed our expectations; where people proved themselves to be more than what we originally believed of them. On the flipside, we are all going to have those times where we get betrayed, screwed over and lied to by people.

Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my gut. More often than not, it does not lead me astray. of course, I have been stabbed in the back by people before. That is unavoidable. But for the most part, I think that I have been a good judge of character in that I haven’t been let down or betrayed so catastrophically that it really left me in a serious bind. I’ve never been in a situation that I’ve trusted the wrong person so blindly that it led to personal harm or injury. Perhaps that’s just luck.

If anything, I’m willing to give people may be a little too much of the benefit of the doubt. I encounter this a lot with my students. When I’m meeting a new student for the first time, all I have to go on, is their experience with other teachers. For the most part, I know the people who I work with, and I know the strength in the shortcomings of their personalities. Sometimes a student and a teacher just Start off on the wrong foot with one another. Sometimes it’s a miscommunication. Sometimes it’s a simple personality clash. These things alone don’t necessarily make somebody “a bad kid “.

My feeling is that when I meet a new student for the first time, we have a clean slate with each other . They’ve never been a problem in my classroom and they’ve never lied or deceived me. Why shouldn’t I give them the benefit of the doubt? More often than not, that leads to a good rapport between me and said student. of course, this approach doesn’t work with everybody. And there are people in this world who you simply are not going to get along with. That’s life. But by and large, this approach has led to more positive outcomes than it has a to negative ones.

I’m probably a little too nice, if I’m being honest. I probably give people too many chances. I think this is why people tend to linger around so long in my life. But once I hit my breaking point, once I realize that I’ve been stabbed in the back or screwed over, there’s no turning back for me. When I’m done with someone, it is forever.

The truth is, I just don’t have it in me to be one of those emotionless brick wall people. Sure, being that ultra guarded, keeps the backstabbing and betrayal to a minimum. The problem is, you also keep the good people out of your life as well. Even on the romantic relationship front, I just can’t do that. I try. A lot of times I try to be like “I don’t need a woman in my life. I’ll just get a dog,” But that’s just not me.

Hope springs eternal, I guess…

Are you a good judge of character?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts…

• Of Training Wheels and Christmas Lights
• Charity Starts at Home (And I’m Back in My Childhood One)
• The Muscle of Empathy
• Where Do We Go From Here? Five Years Since January 6.
• Bugs, Boundaries, and the Art of Not Being Invisible

The article “Judge Rob” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob