After having known someone for a long time, can you actually discover anything new about them? Well, I guess there is never a wrong time to figure a right thing. Here’s a discovery I made about myself having lived with myself for so many years (nope, I am not giving away my age).

I discovered my passion for driving a few months back and it has been a fascinating discovery. Some people are more delighted than I am about this new – found passion, obviously! My husband, for instance, because now he can get driven around everywhere without having to pay for a chauffeur. Kids are also thrilled that they no longer have to wait for dad to pick up and drop them.

But this discovery has come along with a lot of understanding about human psyche. Mr. Menon (who had facilitated a DISC session for me a couple of years back) had casually mentioned that one could actually look at someone’s driving style and figure the personality type. Here are my quick thoughts based on the different drivers I have encountered in the recent past.

1. Focused drivers – They are just too focused on the road and reaching on time. The first ones to start when the light turns green and God save you if you are a second late in starting your car when you are ahead of theirs. They know the way, the shortest possible way and have no time for a detour at all. They jump lanes and do not seem to mind jumping a signal or two when no-one is watching.
2. Chilled – out drivers – They are easy to spot. Strumming their fingers to music on the steering wheel, singing their heart out, nodding their head rhythmically to music. These are the guys who will smile at you if you happen to catch their eye. They will stop for an elderly pedestrian to cross with a small wave of their hand, acknowledge if someone asks for right of way, signal their intentions to take a turn and check if they have displeased the other driver in any way.
3. Steady drivers – They are the ones who drive the car at a steady pace and move with a clear intention. They wait for google maps to tell them to change lanes 300 meters ahead, so they do not cause any disturbance to anyone. They remain calm even if they are getting late. They are gentle when accelerating and changing gears. They avoid creating a scene, even if they have been bashed into by another car, telling themselves that its part of the daily grind. They are respectful – allowing you the right of way.
4. Careful drivers – They are just too careful; going at the minimum defined speed limits (if there are any); avoiding any risks, staying always in the middle lane; they will go by the rules and hate it when there is too much talking or music in the car. They are the ones who you catch waiting at a signal at 5:00 AM when there is no one on the road. They believe in following the rules to the “t” and look down upon anyone who is not following the rules.

I am sure that if you understand DISC, you would have figured out your personality type by now. It turns out that one can also roughly figure your personality with the kind of social media you use most often. Here’s a list of popular social media that we use nowadays:

1. Twitter
2. Fb
3. Instagram
4. Quora/ Google (search & analytics – Well, not exactly a social media but it is an online tool)

Happy to give you a small dekko into your personality if you tell us your preferred social media / online tool. Write into me smita@ableventures.in or hit the reply button.

And yes, next time you catch yourself hurling abuses at the driver who just overtook you without a warning from the left side, you might want to pause a second and be reassured that he is just playing out his personality.

PS: We conduct assessments and trainings for our 100 odd “smart” clients who prefer down-to-earth, easy-to-use assessments without unnecessary jargons. Our mission is to help realise human potential and we achieve this by “engineering people experience”. Choose us as your HR consulting partner.