---
title: "The majority of people perform well in a crisis and when the spotligh… — Alan Bennett Quote #15 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "The majority of people perform well in a crisis and when the spotlight is on them; it's on the Sunday afternoons of this life, when nobody is looking… — a quote by Alan Bennett."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # The majority of people perform well in a crisis and when the spotlight is on them; it's on the Sunday afternoons of this life, when nobody is looking, that the spirit falters.

[Alan Bennett](https://quotesby.net/Alan-Bennett)\#15

[Character](https://quotesby.net/topics/character/)[Integrity](https://quotesby.net/topics/integrity/)[Nature](https://quotesby.net/topics/nature/)[Pressure](https://quotesby.net/topics/pressure/)

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## About this quote

What does it mean?People often succeed under pressure but struggle to maintain integrity when no one is watching.In plain termsWe are brave in a crisis but fail when alone.What can you take from it?Character is tested when unseen.

### Where it applies

- reflecting on personal ethics
- discussing leadership
- analyzing human nature

### Putting it to work

- self-reflection
- building integrity

### Questions to consider

- Can you be ethical in private?
- What drives your behavior?

### Another view

Sometimes public pressure creates anxiety that actually causes failure.

## More from Alan Bennett

1. > An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail, listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am not listed. I should probably co…

[Permalink to quote \#14](https://quotesby.net/Alan-Bennett/14/ "Permalink to quote 14")
2. > To play Trivial Pursuit with a life like mine could be said to be a form of homeopathy.

[Permalink to quote \#16](https://quotesby.net/Alan-Bennett/16/ "Permalink to quote 16")
3. > He had never read Proust, but he had somehow taken a short cut across the allotments and arrived at the same conclusions.

[Permalink to quote \#13](https://quotesby.net/Alan-Bennett/13/ "Permalink to quote 13")

## Related quotes

1. > La vertu s'avilit a se justifier.

[Voltaire](https://quotesby.net/Voltaire)[Voltaire quote \#1](https://quotesby.net/Voltaire/1/ "Permalink to quote 1")
2. > I'd like to be remembered as a guy who tried - tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in …

[Paul Newman](https://quotesby.net/Paul-Newman)[Paul Newman quote \#1](https://quotesby.net/Paul-Newman/1/ "Permalink to quote 1")
3. > In sober state, Through the sequestered vale of rural life, The venerable patriarch guileless held The tenor of his way.

[Beilby Porteus](https://quotesby.net/Beilby-Porteus)[Beilby Porteus quote \#1](https://quotesby.net/Beilby-Porteus/1/ "Permalink to quote 1")

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