A key thing to know about perceptions of others is that it is likely to be subjective. Their perception of you may be informed by factors completely unrelated to you such as their upbringing, mood, life-situation and mental health. Often, one might never know of the particular internal and external factors that could have influenced someone’s perception of you.
While it is important to be open to feedback for growth and avenues one can improve in, it can be detrimental to fixate on people’s perception and let that dictate your life choices. What other’s might value as important may not be the same for you.
The only perception one must always focus on is self-perception.
While facing negative perceptions, here are a few useful tips to deal with it:
- Get to the bottom of it and understand what is happening
- Do not let it affect your demeanour or composition. Now, this may be hard, but it is important to control your reactions in adverse situations.
- Never get defensive, as it showcases your insecurity
- Talk it out: be it a coworker, a friend or a therapist. It is important to have an outlet for your feelings.
- Let it go; it is not something you can control!
Hence, focus on thyself, and your work. Perceptions can not be controlled, but what you can control is your work, and your reaction to it.
For some helpful resources, you can check out what inspires me.
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