The way we see ourselves affects how others perceive us.
Today I saw a new dove commercial where police sketch artists drew subjects as they described themselves. This was followed up with someone else describing the same subject to the police sketch artist. The results were two similar pictures. However, subjects describing themselves almost always described themselves in a less favorable light than the strangers that described them.
Watching this got me to thinking about how important it is to have a grounded identity. What I mean by a grounded identity is an identity that is not rooted in who you are or what you have done.
Gallup produced a book some time ago called Well Being. What they discovered was that the healthiest people had three of five factors present in their lives.
- Having a satisfying career: Career Wellbeing.
- Strong Relationships and love in your life: Social Wellbeing.
- Effectively managing your economic life: Financial Wellbeing.
- Having good health and enough energy to get things done on a daily basis: Physical Wellbeing.
- The engagement you have with the area where you live: Community Wellbeing.
The reason I mention this is that a person’s self perception will be skewed if they focus too much on themselves. Notice that most of the above elements are not even about you. Giving yourself to meaningful work, having strong relationships, managing money well, being healthy and involved in your community have a lot to do with how we relate to the world. In other words, well being comes from not being so caught up in ourselves!
Take a few moments to watch this commercial and ask yourself how your self perception has impacted negatively or positively the way others interact. If your self perception has been negatively impacting others, do some research on well-being and engage in thinking outside yourself. It will ground your identity and benefit the people in your life.