What do you think of YOU?

I don’t think I view myself as others view me. I know that I don’t see the whole picture that is me. It is like I glimpse little pieces of myself.

I can appreciate skills that I have and know I am perticularly good at something, but I never associate that with being an overall worthwhile person.

So while I believe I’m a good husband or a good father or good at house-cleaning or at my profession, I still think I’m a schmuck.

Me…well, I’m my best friend. I’m the only person who has been with me every second for my 18 years on earth. I’ve eased my own pain, laughed with myself, tossed ideas back and forth with myself. I continue trying to make sense of the world and figuring out how I relate to other people. There is a deep understanding of myself that no one else can really attain. I’ve come to love and accept myself through all of that. Most of my opinion of myself is based on my own perception.

But there are cues I get from other people, too. I found out that I’m funny because I make people laugh all the time. I discovered that I’m insightful; people come to me for my opinion and respect what I have to say. There are some things about you that you know about yourself, but interacting with other people can solidify certain things, judging how they react to you.

Simple…if others knew what I knew about me…

hehe…
@marinelife that’s interesting, I usually feel the opposite, that no one sees everything about me like I do. Maybe I should approach it like you do…
@HTDC I feel slightly obligated to answer…
I’m always surprised by what people think of me, because it’s never what I think of myself. I think they’re wrong, know they’re wrong, because they always think I’m so sweet, so so sweet, so innocent, and it drives me absolutely crazy, because I’m not, I just bite my tongue more than most…
I feel like as much as I pretend to know about the world, I know absolutely nothing. I feel like I’m way more dramatic about things than I should be, and so tend to make bigger deals out of things that are, in retrospect, fairly insignificant. I think I’m a little paranoid and a little pessimistic (but I present myself as opptimistic as much as I can, and many people think I’m happy and bubbly.) I’m very judgemental about people I can see… the judgements seem to go away online, when I just see words… but the people I like the least seem to think I’m in love with them because I’ll smile and hide it. I feel like I change the way I act when I’m with different people, and I don’t know how to stay a “consistent” me and not switch between faces, but people always tell me how honest they think I am, as I agree with things they say that I’d honestly like to stab with a hundred skewers and roast over a fire of picking-the-points-apart. So, I guess to sum it up, I feel fake.

It’s interesting to think that other people might know me better than I know myself… when I’ve always felt like the me they see is only the me I show them…

@DancingMind Wow, great answer.

I think of myself as a work in progress—and the clock is ticking. Saying more would require a face-to-face conversation and a bit of alcoholic lubrication.

I have a very low opinion of myself at present. Although I have the education and financial assets that many would consider moderately successful, Grief, depression and Aspergers Syndrome has reduced me to a hollow shell with little self-confidence. I’ve withdrawn myself from the world to a hermetic existance in a small cabin in central Maine. My contact with the world is via internet, public radio and shortwave broadcasts. Me and my cats. I know that there is a world out there that might benefit in some small way from my talents, but stuck in this mire of depressive hopelessness, all I do is make lists of plans then consign them to the woodstove.

I am generally happy with myself, I always have been. To the point where I try to understand people with lower self esteem but I cannot relate because I’ve always had a good ego. I think it is odd since I am convinced my mother has never liked me, you would think that someone who has always felt loathed would end up with issues, but I’ve never had a problem with me. I’m always there when I need me and I learned young that if I can’t depend on myself to run my life and do it right, then there is no one else that will do it for me.

Some people in my life have accused me of always thinking that I am right, but that is not the truth, it may be their perception because when I know that I am right, I will fight for it to the death. But I am the first to admit when I am unsure of something and the most eager to learn, to remain in a constant state of education. Being stagnant in wisdom is like death to the flesh for me.

Years of having the same core group of friends has given me a pretty good idea of who I am in comparison to who I think I am and I like that. I trust myself more and more after experiences and feel relieved with a few things I’ve let go of and I feel more positively focused. Yeah, I do like who I’ve evolved into and like others write, I still feel like a work in progress.

I like me….I don’t expect people to like or not like me.I have come to this conclusion through years of introspection :)

i’m pretty awesome.

i’m the greatest person to ever step foot in this world. matter of fact, the world and its inhabitants are not even worthy enough for me.

@ultimatemaster and @gor_p Well uh…that’s really great, you guys must really like yourselves. ;)

@ultimatemaster Perhaps a little too much.

perhaps. but hey, a little ego goes nowhere.

I’m always expecting more from myself. I have very high mental and physical standards. My morals are also very high, so I always find myself disappointed with what I’m thinking or what I’m achieving. Though this helps me strive and become greater, I feel sometimes I should just be happier with myself more often…

@TehRoflMobile I can certainly relate.

I like all three of us. Me, myself & I. ;-)

another vote for “pretty awesome.”

I have always had relatively high self-esteem. For me that translates to thinking I am a pretty good overall person. It doesn’t mean that I am without flaw and that I have nothing to improve; of course there are always ways to improve, but I am satisfied with myself. And of course, ideas that I may have about myself are confirmed or disproved by how others respond to me and relate to me.

I like myself pretty well. I have dislikes about myself that I’d like to change. I’m not a fan of how loud I can get. I wish I learned how to play an instrument when I was younger. I’d like to be several pounds lighter. There’s always time to change those though. I really like how excited I am about life. It might be an annoying trait to others, but I like that about me. I got excited to go down a few flights of stairs (I usually do). A lot of people don’t get excited about little things. I like my obsession with Nosferatu and I kind of like my fear of feet (I almost find it amusing (as do others when I tell them I need to have plastic bags on my hands if I put lotion on my feet)). I like the fact I like to learn and that I can be so stubborn when learning. I have a lot about myself I still need and want to learn but I guess I like myself more than I thought.

There are things I wish I could change about myself, like my laziness and general lack of motivation, my dislike of work, my difficulties in expressing my thoughts and feelings, my lack of confidence, and I really wish I cared a lot less about what others thought of me.. I’m sure there are more, but that’s what I think of off the top of my head.

On the positive side, I think I’m pretty awesome. It can be hard for me to see this sometimes because I periodically suffer from depression, self-doubt, and low self-esteem. I strive to be a good, positive person and I try to treat others with respect, caring, and understanding. I’m pretty ethical, honest, and genuine. I’m smart, funny, kind, and gentle. I have a lot of talents and a huge heart.

My hope is that more of the positives come across to others than do the negatives.

I’m fairly satisfied with myself by now. I still lack the motivation to do some things I would like to do, but I get along without most of the time.

I hate myself, there is nothing to like. Nothing good about me, inside and out.

@marinelife “It is a sad fate for man to die too well known to everybody else, and not known to himself.”
The Essays of Francis Bacon :)

I am glad to be at a point in my life that I am at. I do not want to be younger or older. I think I’m pretty smart and funny and damn good in bed (modest, too)...seriously, I think that I am someone fun to hang with and someone to trust with your secrets.

I’m better than some and worse than others. My view of myself is made up of how I see myself and what I know others think of me. All others, not just the ones who think I’m neato. I do an honest inventory. I got nothing to lose and every thing to gain from trying on the critiques of others and see which ones fit. Besides, I’m not ashamed of my faults and weaknesses. I yam what I yam.