The great coach John Wooden once said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” This June will mark seven years I’ve been serving tables at Cracker Barrel, and I’m always amazed when a grateful, humble person buys a soldier’s meal. It happens more than you think.

These selfless people never go up to the soldiers to shake their hand, before stealing their meal ticket in front of them. These people don’t make a huge deal about it and announce it loudly so the tables around them know what they’re doing.

No, they usually quietly whisper to me and point to the man or woman in army attire and ask for their ticket without ever letting the soldier know someone has paid for their breakfast.

Although this is a common occurrence where I work, I don’t think hidden, selfless acts are as common as they should be. We’re too busy trying to get credit for every little thing we do that we often lose sight of why we’re doing it. Or maybe that’s where I’m wrong. Maybe that is the reason people do good things-to make themselves look better.

I mean, who volunteers anymore unless they’re doing it for school credit or it’s court ordered? When’s the last time you did yard work in the middle of summer for an elderly person that wasn’t your grandma?

Or when was the last time you did something really good for someone that made you feel all warm inside, like take the time to drive an ill family member to the hospital … and then brag on your Facebook status about how you sat in the ER for five hours with them?

Doesn’t that take something out of it? Doesn’t that put that focus somewhere it shouldn’t? It’s true that man’s character is truly tested when no one’s watching because a humble, selfless person wouldn’t even tell about what they did.

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve done it, probably more than I should. It’s not that I feel I’m owed something by anyone. I guess it just feels good to get a bit of recognition.

But I have the utmost respect for my close friends and often my husband when someone I don’t know too well comes up to me and mentions how lucky I am to have that person in my life because they did such and such for them last week or they were witness to it, and it’s usually something I never even knew about.

Surely my own husband would tell me he spent two hours at the nursing home talking to complete strangers who reside there. But no, that’s just not that type of character he has.