"The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching" is a quote attributed to John Wooden (though i would be unsurprised if the concept has been around significantly before him).
caelum19 and many others have pointed out the... problematic nature(?) of the ALS ice bucket challenge. Namely, that it is a fad, and one in which people show off how "good" they are.
I make no comment here about the aforementioned fad, but the conversation has definitely brought this John Wooden quote to the forefront of my mind, especially in the context of some of our earlier discussions regarding the "best versions of ourselves" (though they escape me now. my google-fu is become weak).
I am asking you to be honest with yourself, and to take a hard look at yourself (without a hating self-judgement) and ask "What do you do when no one is looking?" do you pick up the soda bottle lying on the ground and put it in the recycling bin? Do you stop at the 4-way stop in the witching hours of the night?
What do you do when no one is looking?
I sing. And talk to myself. Edit: I guess this kind of counts - I don't ever play any vidjagames on campus when I have a break on my 3DS or whatever. I usually just lie on a bench like a hobo. Afraid that people'll judge me. Probably a byproduct of people telling me that I should stop doing that when I was on break in highschool. So I only play at home now, even if it's nobody else's business.
I love this. Any solitary moment I have doing something dull (see work) is usually flowered with my musical stylings and reenactments of my favorite standup. Bonus points when somebody catches me. Depending on the person I may just roll with it. I don't care what she says, I have the voice of an angel.
I daydream about what my life will be like in the future. I can be in a completely public place and my mind will begin to travel 100 mph. I think about if I'll ever get married or ever be in a long-term relationship, what that man will be like, will I have kids, what I'll be doing with my life as I feel so lost in what to do now; and more things of that nature.
re the q-tips: I love that feel too, but it also cost me a trip to the doctor last year to get some compacted wax out of my ear. Beware!
I prepare really weird food combinations. Like 2 slices of bread, with mayonnaise and lettuce covered in black+white pepper and then sprinkled with basil. It's lovely! but when someone sees me putting basil and pepper in a sandwich the comments are really annoying.
I continually try out all the weird chip flavours.
I have a bad case of Neophilia, I have to try out new snacks, candy and chips even if I'm pretty sure I won't like them. My friends sometimes buy nasty looking thing that are labeled "new" or "new flavor" and drop them by the house because they know that I can't resist. I also tend to finish stuff that I start even if I don't dig it, no idea why.
I had the Lays Mango Salsa chips the other day. It took me the whole bag to figure out whether they were great or disgusting.
Have you tried the coffee flavored potato chips yet? I'm too timid...
I haven't. I'm on the fence as to whether to bother. most of the sweet chips end up not being bad, just... Blasé? there was a cinnamonny one a while back which was much the same. Maybe I'll try it.
That's definitely the first time, and maybe the last time, that I'll ever hear potato chips referred to as blasé. Got high on steak-flavored potato chips for one blessed college semester in Ireland, been chasing it ever since. I guess I could resort to Amazon or some such. Worse than intentionally sweet potato chip flavors: chips that have no business being sweet but are anyway. Constantly let down by the whole buffalo-style/sriracha thing. Why sweet? Shouldn't be sweet. Should be spicy and that's it. Thank god for Tim's Cascade
at some point in my life i turned into a total food snob.That's definitely the first time, and maybe the last time, that I'll ever hear potato chips referred to as blasé.
According to my brother, they give you flaming hot poops.
i went with disgusting, but i think if you like real mango salsa it might be more palatable. Jury's still out on cheeseburger potato chips, and i've had like 3 bags of them.
If I'm understanding the op correctly, we can share either questionable/gross (in the eyes of others) things we do when no one is looking, or the things we do when no one is watching that others may only do when they stand the chance of receiving a beam of approval from someone else. I've got plenty of the former, but I'm going to buck the trend and report one of the latter as well: I always pick up pennies I find on the street. The only reason I wouldn't would be if it was embedded in a chunk of dog shit or some other distasteful variety of curb flotsam. It's a symbolic gesture, for me, of my determination to live simply and frugally, and an acknowledgement (two second meditation?) that to some people in some parts of the world, a penny is a lot of money.
I really enjoyed that article! Thanks! I grew up with "Find a penny, pick it up . . ." Rather than altruism, perhaps it's that motivating my current practice. lol
Yup, I always pick up pennies, regardless of where I am. I reckon at this point I've probably collected the cost of a couple of pints from the copper I've found on the streets - and the occasional brass piece; I found ten cent (€) yesterday. As my friend Donal says, paraphrasing the well-known rhyme:
See a penny, pick it up
All day long you'll have
A penny.