Who Are You When No One Is Watching?

 

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: “Who am I, really?” If not, then today, you and I are going to talk about that hidden face—the real identity—that only appears when no one is watching.

When money comes into our lives, people suddenly begin to respect us, praise us, and raise us high—but only on the surface. That’s the bitter truth. So let’s talk.

The reality is, we’ve lost ourselves. This has become so common that it’s hardly even surprising anymore. We’re drowning—in problems, difficulties, and challenges. Whether it's work, job, or corporate life, we barely get a moment to stop and ask: “Who am I really?”

Every person wears two faces. That’s the truth. But what’s worth thinking about is that it wasn’t like this when we were children. As we grew older, our character, our appearance, our personality—all changed. Our childhood innocence is gone, and now we carry the burdens of:

1. Family

2. Survival

3. Respect

4. Money

5. Insecurity

When you're poor, have no job or skill, people don't even recognize you. Even relatives ignore you or pretend not to know you. But… is it really their fault?

Because, honestly, if you were rich, wouldn’t you have done the same?

A poor man’s nature is simple. But when that same man suddenly becomes rich, his style and attitude change. That’s fine. But changing for the worse isn’t okay either.

Every day we step out with a face we’ve chosen for the world—sometimes smiling, sometimes oppressed, sometimes pretending to be a hero. But is that face real? Or just a mask we wear to survive in society?

Now think:

When there’s no camera… no social media… no people judging…

Who are you then?

Are you the same person you show the world? Probably not.

Maybe your real self is hiding in that darkness where it’s just you—and your conscience.

Yes, there is a lot of pretense within us. But why? Because we’re scared of what people might say. But is that really a good thing?

No.

Work hard—but not to show off. Do it to find yourself.

Learn—not to impress others, but to grow.

Don’t run from responsibilities—face them. Fight them. Learn from every challenge. But don’t become obsessed, like the younger generation is doing today.

Here are some truths you must accept:

1. Don’t waste your time without reason.

2. Work harder.

3. Don’t care what others say when it comes to your goals.

4. Stop wasting your time on meaningless reels.

These are some ideas I’m sharing with you because if we truly focus on them, we can achieve so much. But we don’t. We waste our precious time on things that give us nothing back.

If that time were invested in family, prayer, or self-growth, wouldn’t that be better? There’s nothing boring about that.

Look—youth doesn’t last forever. One day, this phase of life will end. And in the end, all that remains is regret.

So find the solution, and the difficulties will begin to solve themselves.

The reels we see on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok—they're all just a show. We keep watching for views and likes. But ask yourself: who benefits from it?

The content creator does. Not us.

We only lose our time.

A poor man works day and night for his family, children, and a few of his own dreams.

So, let people say whatever they want. It doesn’t matter.

What matters is that you respect yourself. Improve your character.

One day, those who ignore you will come to you. Mark my words.

The silly mistakes we made as children—that was just our childhood. But now we have awareness. So don’t ignore your responsibilities. Face them. Fight them.

And listen—neither you nor I are anything.

Why?

Because we haven’t recognized our true potential.

We fear responsibility.

We think we already know everything.

But we don’t.

Let me tell you something real:

This education system—school and college—it caused us more harm than we realize. You might be surprised to hear that. Isn’t school and college good?

Yes, studying is important. But it’s also true that the system is a scam in many ways.

The Reality of the School and College System:

They try to make us machines—putting everyone through the same syllabus, showing everyone the same dreams. But not all kids are the same.

Just because a kid is bad at math, does that mean he’s a fool?

No.

Did those math lessons we were forced to memorize help us in our jobs today?

No.

I’ve seen people with degrees, engineers, struggling to get by—doing labor jobs despite all their education.

So students must always have a Plan B—a backup.

If you’re studying only because you think you’ll get a government job later—you might be wrong.

And it’s not just the students’ fault.

It’s also the parents’ fault.

Some parents think marks are everything. But marks are just numbers.

A person’s real value lies in their thinking, their emotions, their skills, and their determination.

In school, we were taught to memorize answers.

But in life, we’re asked questions we were never prepared for.

Now ask yourself:

When there’s no phone in your hand, no selfies, no applause, no validation—

Are you still the good person you try to appear as?

Think about it.

> “A real person is someone who stays honest with their conscience—even in darkness.”

Reels don’t teach us anything.

They just show us how perfect others seem, and we begin to feel ashamed of our own lives.

It becomes a kind of addiction—likes, comments, views.

But that addiction doesn’t just eat up our time—it destroys our confidence too.

> “Find your true self. Remove society’s filters. Are you truly happy, or just smiling for a post caption?”

Your time is precious. Either invest it in yourself—or be ready to regret it later.

This world will always pressure you to become something.

But the most important task in life is to understand yourself.

Who are you, when no one is watching?

If you haven’t thought about it yet—then now is the time.

And if you're still wasting your time and energy,

Then just once—look into the mirror.

Ask yourself:

“Who is this face? Is this person happy, or just pretending?”

---

Final Advice:

Low self-worth comes from not having money, fame, or respect.

And how do we get those?

Hard work.

But if you keep wasting your time on reels, mobile, Telegram—you’ll get nothing.

And even if there’s something to be gained, it’s the creators who’ll gain. Not you.

So, where are you heading?

---

Article by Abdul Hafeez