Whether you are walking by a group of people who you aren't fond of or you listen to your friend bash some of your beliefs you always do the same thing, keep your mouth shut and nod. You don't know why you do this, but the thought of standing up and speaking your mind makes your stomach drop and your mouth go dry. Nothing to worry about there are two types of people in the world, ones that seek confrontation and ones that run away from it with their tails tucked between their legs. It's a part of evolution after all, and your flight instinct has kept you alive so far. But what does it really mean about you?
1. For starters, you are probably a people pleaser.
1)This isn't always a bad thing. You are the glue that keeps your friends together and the one people always go to advice. You just don't like to stir the pot, not because you don't have opinions, but because the ladle in the pot is just not worth the stir.
2. You've been there, done that.
Either you grew up with siblings who loved to argue, or you have had friends that stabbed you in the back, either way you have already fought the fight and have put away you weapons. You just don't have the drive to say whatever is on your mind because it's not worth it to you. You would rather pick and choose your arguments rather than always having something to say.
3. You are confident with yourself.
You don't have the need to "prove" your opinion to anyone. This could be about politics or the way that someone hurt your feelings, not saying anything and walking away says a lot about your character and your high maturity rate.
4. You don't want people to get the wrong idea of you.
Spilling your guts and saying whatever is on your mind to a room full of people wanting to hear your opinion can be intimidating. If you come off to strong you get the wrong impression, but if you say it too weak you look like you don't care. Sometimes your brain works faster than your mouth and the thought of stumbling over your words while trying to express yourself makes you want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
5. You just don't like arguing.
You don't want to add fuel to the fire and make the problem worse. You feel yucky and gross like your stomach is going to fall out and your tongue is going to shrivel up whenever you fight and immediately want to apologize. You would rather take some time to collect your thoughts than to fight fire with fire. Instead of saying anything and everything to prove your point you'd rather make a serious stance of what you are trying to say.
Keeping your opinions to yourself does not make you a weak or dull person. Word vomit is never your friend. It shows that you pick when to fight your battles and that what you say has emphasis and that it does matter. You get to pick and choose how you come off as a person and you never let anyone walk over you. To fight or flight is the question that has gone back hundreds of years, but my friend Charles Darwin would agree, both have kept you alive.
