Perception of Ourselves
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 09-05-2005 - 1:22pm |
The "Abandoning goals and being realistic" thread has got me thinking about our perception of ouselves vs. how others perceive us, relating to who we are. I think now that I'm comfortable w/ my body I have a realistic physical self-image, but I've had a bit of a rude awakening as of late regarding my persona (for lack of a better word). I'm rather laid back and easy going, very much 'live and let live'. I love to help others and offer a smile or kind word to bring a little comfort & happiness to their day. I am rather serious although I enjoy humour & laugh easily. I was told yesterday by another instructor that the only negative feedback she's ever heard is that people are scared of/intimidated by me. (Apparently this includes my boss.) I don't think I was hurt, but was certainly shocked by this. DH has mentioned this in the past too, that the business wives I've met like me but are intimidated. I'm a happy little elf so how's this possible? :-P
Anyway... here's my questions:
1. How do you perceive yourself?
2. How do you THINK others perceive you?
3. If you're aware of how others actually perceive you, is it the same or different than the above answers?
Which reminds me... someone sent me a link to a Harry Potter Personality test. If I find the link I'll post it.

Pages
Sol, I had every intention of posting a thread like this based on our other discussion, but just couldn't seem to find the words. Thanks for finding them for me.
1. How do you perceive yourself?
I perceive myself as funny, caring, supportive, pessimistic, ambitious and strong willed.
2. How do you THINK others perceive you?
I assumed it's the same....
3. If you're aware of how others actually perceive you, is it the same or different than the above answers?
Well, interestingly enough, I've gotten some feedback lately that really floored me. A new friend called me "bubbly." Never in a million years would I have thought of myself as bubbly. I've also realized that my persona with my PT clients is very cheerleader-esque even though I have always detested cheerleaders. :P (Yep, I was the girl in black eyeliner and rock concert tshirts who skipped pep rallies.) I think I come off as friendly, but have also heard that I'm intimidating as well.
for a class once we had to interview people about ourselves, ask them what they thought our strongest and weakest feature was, etc. it was really illuminating, and i recommend doing it sometime.
i don't think i had any huge surprises. the main thing i learned is that people saw me as more extreme in both good and bad than i would have thought and i think it's because (of course) people view you and your traits through their opinions of those traits. for instance T's parents, who i thought i had never expressed a controversial opinion to (they don't like opinions so i don't express any around them), thought i was extremely opinionated. i think that's because of their dislike of ANY opinions -- to them, me completely avoiding having any opinions around them was STILL too opinionated. on the other hand, people who valued opinions didn't find me particularly opinionated, but they (in my view) overvalued my intelligence or my ability to express myself. very interesting.
i am very much a gemini, so if i list what i think i'm like it would be all over the place, and also it would chance from hour to hour as my mood changes. the things that are pretty constant are, i'd say i'm independent, analytical, honest, intolerant/irritable, passionate, able to see the humor in myself and in life (but i don't necessarily consider myself funny), lazy, a sucker for the underdog, and whatever the opposite of superficial is.
i think people overstate my intelligence, my compassion, my opinionatedness, my articulateness (see, i don't even think articulateness is a word, so that proves that i don't have it)
1. How do you perceive yourself?
I don't think I've ever considered this much.
1. How do you perceive yourself? I see myself as a fun loving, confident, happy, intelligent woman, who should probably exercise more and not be so hard on herself all the time.
2. How do you THINK others perceive you? I think that I do intimidate some people because I can come across as very confident. I know my sister has accused me of talking down to her on many occasions and I think that sometimes I can seem to be doing this unintentionally. I hope and think that people enjoy my company socially because I enjoy talking to people.
3. If you're aware of how others actually perceive you, is it the same or different than the above answers? I think I am more critical of myself than others are and I think there are aspects of my personality that come out which I don't realize sometimes. Being self-aware is very difficult sometimes.
Jody
people sometimes think i'm talking down to them too, when what i'm actually doing is being logical and analytical (in the interests of trying to be helpful and solve a problem).
i'm kind of like a stereotypical guy in that respect, if someone tells me a problem, i'll analyze it and give them ideas of how to solve it. this is often taken as me being critical of them, or
That is funny, I can't picture you as scary!
1. How do you perceive yourself?
quiet, average
2. How do you THINK others perceive you?
reclusive, average
3. If you're aware of how others actually perceive you, is it the same or different than the above answers?
People tell me that I am just laid back and very friendly. They all tell me that I am beautiful (or some derivative of the word), but I can't believe them.
Paula
Pages