This past week I took a moment to consider how people see themselves vs how others see them. In the process I wrote down a few notes about my strengths and weaknesses, then I asked a bunch of my friends for their input. The results were interesting, but perhaps not what I expected. I don't know that I entirely agree with everything that was said, but most of the replies were very insightful!
I initially decided that my strengths might include friendship, creativity, analytical ability, and a positive attitude. Oh, and my ninja-like skills!
My weaknesses included such things as being non-committal and occasional poor time management. Oh, and multiple failed attempts at world domination.
The opinions of my friends are listed below in approximately chronological order and nearly verbatim. The interesting thing is that none of the strengths and weaknesses given were the same, or even matched the ones that I wrote down. Is it because we've had different interactions, because we base our views and judgments of others on ourselves, or for some other reason all together?
What my friends said about me:
Rachel-
Strength: Generosity
Weakness: Generosity
Comment: yeah, I know. They are both the same. It's not a typo.
Elizabeth-
Strength: Confidence
Weakness: Arrogance
Comment: Hmmm. They are ALMOST the same, if you think about it.
Katie-
Strength: I make people around me feel comfortable, and I make them laugh
Weakness: I fail to verbalize opinions & I Evade direct questions
Comment: Yeah, she's right, but I don't know when I've avoided her questions... T'was very insightful.
Audryn-
Strength: Great teacher (patient and very good at explaining things)
Weakness: Don't take things seriously enough at times
Comment: I'm being serious right now. VERY serious.
Jon-
Strength: Communication skills
Weakness: I worry too much
Comment: See! I have guy friends!
Sarah-
Strength: Genuineness, kindness, wittiness, concern for others
Weakness: Thinking the Cak cam was a good idea.
Comment: Ah yes, the Cak cam. =) That's a story for another day...
Audrey-
Strength: Spontaneous
Weakness: Everything I undertake has to be on a grand scale
Comment: By they way, I will be hosting a large party to celebrate the release of this blog entry.
(not really, but feel free to come over anyway!)
Grace-
Strength: Curiosity for life and thirst for knowledge.
Weakness: #$*@^& *@#! #$&!!!
Comment: Yeah, she wouldn't list a weakness so I had to step in.
Elisia-
Strength: Amazingly good looks.
Weakness: No x-ray vision.
Comment: OK... I made this one up. There is no Elisia.
So what does this say about me? I don't know. I think what's more important is what is says about others. Why do we see each other so differently? Do we ever judge people prematurely before we really know them (I at least had the benefit that everyone I asked likes or at least tolerates me)? Why do we notice and give more attention to certain characteristics? Really, these opinions might say more about the people who gave them than they say about me. I think all we can really conclude is that everyone is different, and there is no generalization that we can make about people.
Friday, December 5, 2008
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2 comments:
That is a brilliant conclusion, and that is why it really shouldn't matter what people think of you. It's always nice to hear what people think of you, though! It somehow makes a person feel validated in his/her excessively high self-esteem!!!
Very interesting, now I better understand why you were so interested in others views when creating our constitutions. It's true that we can learn by our frailties others see in us, but the truth is sometimes others are just as wrong as us. Just be strong in who you are and accept feedback when it is beneficial. Props for learning more about yourself, and for putting mine at the top of the list. :)
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