With regards to understanding your self, your individual notion of your character doesn’t essentially align with that of individuals round you. However which is extra correct? And might discovering your true nature result in a greater life?
People
7 December 2022
Jason Ford
EVER questioned what different folks consider you – I imply, what they actually consider you? I take into account myself first rate firm, as an illustration, even when I do know I get a bit vociferous after just a few pints of bitter. I wish to suppose I’m open-minded and thoughtful, too, although I recognise I may be dismissive at occasions. However these days, notably the morning after just a few of these pints, I’ve change into interested in how different folks see me.
Let’s be trustworthy: typically I ponder if folks suppose I’m extra obnoxious than I realise. As a result of presumably you wouldn’t know. That’s partly the place the intrigue lies for me. How precisely can we see ourselves? And who’s the true you anyway – the individual you suppose you might be, or the individual different folks see?
It isn’t that I’m self-obsessed, you perceive. I’m simply intrigued concerning the extent to which the way in which folks see my character tallies with the way in which I view myself. Finally, I ponder whether being extra conscious of those shadowy hinterlands of self-knowledge would possibly make life higher – not just for me, however for individuals who spend time with me. Did I say I wasn’t self-obsessed?
In the hunt for solutions, I did what top folks are likely to keep away from: I solicited trustworthy insights into my nature from a dozen associates, relations and colleagues. I requested them to fill out a 60-point questionnaire designed by psychologists to evaluate character, and to provide the 2 traits they most affiliate with me – one constructive and one detrimental. Then I waited nervously for the scales to fall from my eyes.
