June 5, 2002

How Do You Think Other People Perceive You? A June Journal Smackdown Collaboration entry.

You know, I have to say that I've never really given this question much thought. It's not that I don't care what people think about me, but more that how they perceive me doesn't have much of an impact on me. Perhaps this is another legacy of my Brat childhood; I'm never around long enough for people to form an opinion of me that registers. Some might call that self-absorption. I think it is a learned survival technique. You have to adopt a thick skin when you're bouncing around from place to place and school to school, always the new kid in town. Granted, I was always picked on and bullied a lot, which at the time I know hurt me. I was a kid. When you're that young anything hurts more than it should or does. As I've grown up, I've come to realize that those bullies and tormentors left no scars on me mentally. I hold no ill will towards them and hope they have been able to wrestle with whatever personal demons they may have had that made them act in that fashion.

It's all about perspective in the long run. There are two aspects to it that I can see. One, be true to thine self. Know who you are, in all ways. Accept your limitations and revel in your strengths. Respect yourself. Strive to be a better well rounded person who is sure of who they are. Realize that how people perceive you is a reflection of how you see yourself and who you are striving to be. Two, understand that everyone else is in the same predicament as you. We are all trying to figure out just who we are and what purpose we serve. Understand also that many people find the journey of self-discovery a difficult road to travel down and seek shortcuts along the way. Do your best not to follow their footprints and make your own instead. Life is a long haul. No sense wasting energy worrying about how others see you when that energy can be best spent inwards.

Heh. Some entry. Move over Tony Robbins. I'm the new guru of self-help!

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