How To Change People’s Perception Of You

Monday, April 17th, 2006 @ 9:28 am | Uncategorized

I’ve often wondered how people view me. Do they see me as I see me? I see myself as an intelligent, overly underachieving a-hole. I wonder if other people view me in that same light. And if they do, is it my own dang fault?

Maybe I make real in the world everyday the perceptions I keep in my mind. I view myself negatively, and therefore I act accordingly. And since I view myself negatively, I also tend to view other people in that same light. I have a pretty negative view of myself, and therefore I think other people carry those same traits.

I wonder if other people’s perceptions of me are the reason I keep getting the crappy jobs that I have, or keep getting the bad girlfriends over and over again. Perhaps it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since I don’t think very highly of myself, I probably never go for the jobs and the women I probably could get. I set my goals and standards low toward my own low personal perceptions.

And people only treat you how you seem to want to be treated. People take their cues from you. I saw that on the Sopranos last night.

Tony was acting weak, and people were starting to treat him like a weak, unhealthy person. And to change those perceptions that were starting to grow among his peers, Tony knew he had to do something drastic. So, he picked the person who looked like the strongest among them, one he knew in advance through sizing up he could probably take, and he took him on, beating the crap out of him.

Of course, afterwards, he had to spit out bodily fluid, but he knew what he had just done had brought back his alpha male status among the crew. And that brought a smile to his face.

Anyway, I don’t know if what I just wrote has anything to do with the article in this digg. I mean, the page is really about work and office perceptions, and how you can change a negative work perception through presenting yourself in the right professional light.

Whatever…