psychology
What do other people think of me?
This sentence helps me to overcome my fear of evaluation
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What do others think of me? If you often ask yourself this question: welcome to the club! Here you will learn how to overcome your rating anxiety.
Some people seem made to be the center of attention. With eyes fixed on them like rays, they literally bask in the attention of others. I’m the opposite of them. At a party, I like to stand on the edge. I prefer to talk to one person than to many, I prefer to observe than to be observed. And I’m actually quite happy with it.
Nevertheless, I sometimes catch myself looking at the sun worshipers among us with envy or even irritation. I don’t want to be in her place. But I would like to know how they do it. Why don’t they burn? Why are they shining bright while I’m bright red? How do you protect yourself from the intense heat of other people’s reviews? Do you have any other sun lotion? And if so, can I have some of that, please?
what others think about me Probably very little.
I suspect so: there is no universal answer to that, we humans are far too different for that. But recently I read a sentence that at least offers a little sun protection factor – and maybe it could also help you to free yourself from the constant fears of what others think of you. It’s a little mind game:
If you’re worried about how others might judge you right now, remember that they’re probably too busy thinking about how they come across to you right now.
Read the sentence again. And again. So! That takes the wind out of the sails of fear. Our sense of self may differ, as may our tendencies to be introverted or extroverted. In one thing, however, we humans are quite similar: we all probably have deep down the desire to be liked, some only by our own reference persons, others by everyone.
We can also subject this mind game to an everyday check: if two people with a pimple on their forehead are sitting across from each other, they will probably worry a lot more about their own “blemish” than they would even notice that of the other person.
We are once again much more critical of ourselves than of others and well, admittedly, people are also somewhat self-centered. In this case, that’s not so bad. The next time we’re wondering if we’re looking weird, talking weird, or being categorized right now, remember that the other person’s thoughts are far more likely to be about themselves.