I'll be the first to admit, as far as self esteem goes, mine is pretty bruised and battered. Your teenage years are never conducive to a great amount of self confidence, and mine has yet to fully recover from the trauma it underwent during those terrible years (can you tell that I didn't enjoy being a teenager??) However, we always seem to see ourselves in a completely different light than others do, and for the most part, we seem to focus on our flaws, whereas those around us will always pick out our best bits. Sometimes it can be extremely hard to remember that we do have good aspects to our personalities, especially when you get yourself into a self-hating spiral. So, I conducted a little test to prove this, and hopefully this will help you to realise that you are not only made up of the negative flaws that you concentrate on, but also some amazing qualities that are sometimes harder to see.


So, over the last month or so, I've asked some of my closest friends and family to describe me in 5 words or less. A nice an simple test right? But before I asked anyone, I wrote down the 5 characteristics that I thought summed myself up... And you'll be amazed at the difference between how I see myself and how those around me see me...


The words I chose to describe myself:
Lazy, stubborn, organised, opinionated + a worrier. 



The words others chose to describe me:
Motivated, generous, beautiful, creative, organised, funny, a dependable friend, confident, snap happy, reliable, sweet, perfectionist, emotional, punctual, fun, home bunny, passionate, strong.



As I said, the difference between how I see myself and how the people closest to me see me is huge. There are of course a few correlations - aspects that are neither particularly negative or positive are more likely to match up - but the point is that other people seem to see me in a much more positive light than I see myself. So next time you're feeling down, try not to focus on what you dislike about yourself, and try to remember that you're an amazing person with loads of great qualities, no matter how hard they seem to be to find at the time. My puppy Desmond likes you, anyway.

13 comments

  1. This is such a sweet post. Reminds me of this Dove advert where they do a similar thing but with an artist who draws each person as they describe themselves physically, and then how a complete stranger describes them :) xx

    Katy | www.littlemisskaty.co.uk

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  2. This really is a great inspirational post. I think we find it a lot easier to pick out the bad in us and the good in others, so it's great that your friends said such kind things x

    daisy-drops

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  3. nice post
    http://ladaadidahh.wordpress.com/

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  4. Great exercise, Isobel. :) I have been asking people to specifically tell me negative and positive aspects of my personality, and I think it really helps ME to be more aware of myself, flaws and all.

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  5. Lovely post. I always see the negative in everything and certainly in myself, where as everyone is always telling me different, and its true no one is all bad. Great blog

    Gaby x

    http://theglamdottylife.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Great post! It could be a shocker to hear what other people think of ourselfs since more often than not, our opinion is totally different :)

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  7. Glad you liked it - oh yeah I loved that ad! x

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  8. Yes it reminded me of exactly this! Thanks for sharing Katy! :D

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  9. Oh yes Isobel you have been all wrong about you! :D Of whatever we know you through your blog you are a very very sweet and intelligent person, besides really really pretty! :-)

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