How self-conscious are you? Take this quiz to find out.
After each question, mark:
- Disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Strongly agree
1. When talking with strangers, I tend to avoid looking at them in the eyes.
2. After I have a conversation with someone, I often go over in my mind everything I said and how I think I came across.
3. I become uncomfortable if I notice someone is looking at me.
4. It would make me feel uncomfortable if I were the first to arrive or the first to leave a small party.
5. I often compare myself to celebrities.
6. I worry about how my figure or physique looks to others.
7. I am sensitive or embarrassed by my weight.
8. I feel uncomfortable with my overall appearance.
9. Before I leave home, I’ll look in the mirror and make sure that I look OK.
10. I would never spontaneously get up from my seat and dance at a concert.
11. I would be very nervous if I had to make a speech in front of other people.
12. It makes me feel nervous if someone acts loud or angry in a restaurant or a grocery store.
13. I would feel especially uneasy if I learned that the CEO himself was conducting the job interview for the job I was applying for.
14. I would feel especially sensitive if I felt something was noticably “wrong” with me, such as having acne, a small chest, a bald spot or some other noticeable problem with my appearance.
Scoring: Give yourself 1 point for each “a” answer, 2 points for every “b” and 3 points for every “c” response.
A score of 14-21 points: You are not very self-conscious about how you come across to others. Perhaps you seek attention from others, or perhaps you just don’t care what other people think. But it could also be that you are self-confident and you believe in yourself, and that you’re not easily rattled by other people’s judgements.
A score of 22-31 points: You’re aware of other people’s perceptions of you, but those perceptions don’t usually dictate what you do, strongly influence how you express yourself or dominate how self-confident you are.
A score of 32-42 points: You are very self-conscious about how you come across to others. You are likely to fear being rejected, are very sensitive to criticism and you are likely to have low self-esteem.
There is a difference between how you view yourself and how sensitive you are to other people’s opinion of you. It’s quite possible to feel fine about your appearance in private, but sensitive about it in public. Or to be very judgmental about yourself privately, but far more comfortable in front of others.
The one thing you want to avoid is to be kind and generous in your judgments of other people, but harsh, critical and unforgiving of yourself. It is vital for you to believe in your own worth and value, and not let other people’s opinions become far more important than your own. If you do, you’re likely to become isolated, withdrawn and fearful of what others think, and those fears will rule your life.
If that happens to you, look at what you like about yourself, what you do well, what you’re proud of, what you’ve experienced or accomplished in your life and what you think is good, healthy and attractive about you. It’s not wise to let other people’s opinions to become too important to you. After all, those people are self-conscious also.
