Cowards might try to mask their true selves, but their actions and attitudes often give them away, especially if they try to pass the buck to avoid responsibility. If you’re looking to out the coward in your life, here are some ways cowards unintentionally show who they really are.
Avoiding Confrontation at All Costs
Cowards are experts at steering clear of conflict, and they’ll do just about anything to dodge tough conversations or awkward moments, even if it means ghosting someone completely. Maybe they don’t return your call when they know you’re upset, or they change the subject when things start to get serious.
Shifting Blame to Others
When something goes wrong, their first instinct is to point fingers. Owning up to a mistake feels too risky for them, so they’ll pass the blame along to anyone they can, often twisting facts to make themselves look innocent, and this pattern creates a ripple effect, leaving others to pick up the pieces.
Making Promises They Can’t Keep
At first glance, this type of person might seem overly accommodating, meaning they’ll say yes to everything, like helping you move or taking on a big project, just to keep you happy in the moment. But when it’s time to deliver, they’ll disappear, come up with excuses, or outright fail to follow through.
Hiding Behind Others
A coward’s favorite hiding spot is behind someone stronger, and if things go wrong, they’ll point to someone else as the responsible party, all while pretending they never had a stake in the situation. They’ll let others speak up, take risks, and make decisions, all while staying safely in the background.
Speaking Ill Behind Your Back
Why would they speak to your face when they can save their complaints and frustrations for private conversations, whispering behind closed doors instead of addressing issues head-on? They’ll talk about you, but not to you, preferring to let gossip do their dirty work, which is toxic to say the least.
Over-Apologizing Without Action
People without a backbone are quick to apologize but slow to make meaningful changes, saying “I’m sorry” over and over again, thinking it’ll smooth things over without putting in the effort to fix the root of the problem. At first, it might seem like they’re genuinely regretful, but their inaction tells a different story.
Fear of Making Decisions
Decision-making is terrifying for these individuals because it forces them to take responsibility. Whether it’s choosing what to order for dinner or deciding on a career move, they’ll stall, defer to others, or avoid the choice altogether, and by doing nothing, they think they’re playing it safe, but in reality, they’re just passing the burden onto someone else.
Exaggerating Problems to Gain Sympathy
A calculated move that keeps others from noticing their reluctance to face real challenges head-on is exaggerating problems to gain sympathy, when cowards have a way of making mountains out of molehills. They’ll take a minor inconvenience and blow it out of proportion, not because they enjoy drama, but because it distracts from their flaws.
Backing Down Under Pressure
The moment things get tense, what do you think a person without courage will do? They will shrink back and abandon their position, and while they might start out with strong opinions or bold ideas, as soon as they meet resistance, they fold like a house of cards.
Relying on Passive-Aggression
Instead of openly expressing frustration, they’ll rely on subtle jabs and indirect comments, which could be a sarcastic text or making a vague social media post aimed at someone they’re upset with. These actions are their way of venting without facing the risk of a direct confrontation.
Failing to Support Others
When someone else is in trouble, cowards are the first to vanish. They’ll stay quiet in a meeting when a colleague is being unfairly criticized or avoid speaking up when a friend is being mistreated, and it’s not necessarily that they don’t care—it’s that they’re too afraid of the consequences of stepping in, but their silence speaks louder than words.
Making Excuses for Inaction
It’s no surprise that excuses come naturally to these people, and they’ll have a long list of reasons why they couldn’t do something or why it’s not their fault. By justifying their inaction, they protect themselves from failure or criticism, and furthermore, these excuses might seem harmless at first, but over time, they reveal a deep unwillingness to face challenges.
Acting Overly Defensive
Cowards can’t handle criticism, even when it’s constructive. The moment someone points out a flaw, they’ll overreact, often turning the conversation into an argument to protect their fragile ego, because they don’t want to seem weak or imperfect.
Avoiding Risks at All Costs
Whether it’s a career move, a personal investment, or even trying something new, they’ll choose the safest, most predictable path, which possibly leads to missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential. Their fear of failure or rejection keeps them stuck in their comfort zone, leaving others to wonder what they might be capable of if they’d only take a chance.
Seeking Approval Constantly
A way of avoiding criticism by blending in rather than standing out is when these individuals crave approval because it reassures them they’re on the right track. Seeking validation from friends, family, or coworkers, often to the point of being overly agreeable, is the norm for them.
Overreacting to Minor Issues
Small problems can feel like major disasters, and you can bet they’ll overreact, making the situation feel far bigger than it actually is. This tendency to blow things out of proportion often comes from their lack of emotional resilience, because by focusing on small issues, they distract themselves and others from deeper insecurities.
Pretending to Be Neutral
Finally, cowardly people will sometimes play the neutrality card in tricky situations, claiming they don’t want to “take sides.” While this might seem like an attempt to be fair, it’s usually just a way to avoid conflict when they think staying out of the fray means they’re protecting themselves from backlash.