One thing I’ve realized over the years is that people struggle to identify people who can cause them harm.  I mean everyone has negative traits, right?  So how do you know when someone posses a risk to you or could harm you?

Many people want to give people the benefit of the doubt when they display negative behavior, but is that really wise?

Sure, you can forgive someone for one outburst that is unacceptable if they had a bad day, but when you start forgiving them for negative trait after negative trait, that’s when you are getting into troubled territory.

So many times victims will tell you that they didn’t see trouble coming because there were no clues, but there are absolutely clues, it’s just people don’t know what to look for or they ignore them.

So today I want to share with you traits that people can have that should cause you concern and even alarm. If you know a person who exhibits any of the following traits, you really should take notice.  These traits are NEVER EVER GOING TO BE POSITIVE FOR YOU.

If a person has two, three, four or more of these traits, you are likely dealing with a person who has a high probability to disregard you, use you, and even harm you emotionally, psychologically or physically. If they have many of these traits, you might not even want to engage with this person.  Why would you ever want to invest in a downward spiral like this?  Why take that risk?

Traits of Dangerous People

•  glib and superficial charm
•  grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
•  need for stimulation
•  pathological lying
•  cunning and manipulative
•  lack of remorse or guilt
•  shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
•  callousness and lack of empathy
•  parasitic lifestyle
•  poor behavioral controls
•  sexual promiscuity
•  lack of realistic long-term goals
•  impulsivity
•  irresponsibility
•  failure to accept responsibility for own actions
•  many short-term marital relationships

This checklist is not mine. It’s from the well known psychologist Dr. Robert Hare.  This is the psychopathic checklist.  It’s used by professionals and not intended for the public to diagnose a psychopath (they use a scoring method to do it), but you don’t need any specialized training to know that someone who has many of these traits, you can know that they could careless about others, and are truly out for their own good.  They will without a doubt use people, and disregard them after they satisfy their own needs.

When I see people with these traits, I don’t walk. I run. And I completely disengage. They aren’t worth the time of day.  I chose to invest in people who care and are compassionate.

And last but not least, many people will see these traits and disregard them, and explain them away. This is very dangerous for you to do to yourself. You are denying red flags and you need to ask yourself why. What can’t you accept that you are doing this?

I hope this helps people assess other people’s risk factors.   Be safe!