Are we who WE think we are...or are we REALLY who everyone else thinks we are?

Question:We do not fully understand ourselves, that is why there are times that we feel lost, afraid.
Others do not fully comprehend us, for they cannot read our minds. They can only see how we present ourselves to them, and make their judgement according to the rules set in their reality.
There is also the side of us that remains dormant. Only when subject to intense emotions would it surface What we are capable of when driven by rage, hatred, grief, etc is something that we can't imagine. That is something others are even more unlikely to have seen.

Who are we, really?
Are we who we are? Are we who we think we are? Are we whoever that everyone else thinks we are?
We might be all of that.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We do not fully understand ourselves, that is why there are times that we feel lost, afraid.
Others do not fully comprehend us, for they cannot read our minds. They can only see how we present ourselves to them, and make their judgement according to the rules set in their reality.
There is also the side of us that remains dormant. Only when subject to intense emotions would it surface What we are capable of when driven by rage, hatred, grief, etc is something that we can't imagine. That is something others are even more unlikely to have seen.

Who are we, really?
Are we who we are? Are we who we think we are? Are we whoever that everyone else thinks we are?
We might be all of that.

Both.

There's an inner self, and there's the self you expose to society.

You need to find a balance.

I'm not who I think I am. I'm not who you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.

You dig?

I know I'm a good person and despite it all, my mom thinks of me as a monster and needs to be "prayed for". I am in a struggle between being nice to the world and part of me wants to turn to the dark side and ....

That's the question and i was thinking about it some minutes ago! I think that we are what WE think we are. Here's a good site to start browsing. It has everything and it'll help a lot. You can start reading about the subconscious mind:
http://www.2knowmyself.com/directory

I just am. I exist in balance with everything and everyone. I am an entity encased in this form we know as body. I think only when society expects me to contribute. I feel when I want to sense by essence of being.

I judge not nor expect to be judged by my fellow extensions of self. For when we judge an feel judged we are not ourselves are true selves, we are projections of what is expected from our egos.

In conclusion who cares what anyone thinks of anyone. Judgement is such a dangerous mythology in any form.

im a teen so im who i m cz i m diferent.
n one important reason to b ourslz is 2 hve freedom.

Well, first off, I do believe that Mot hit the proverbial nail on the head.
Basically, a person is both; you live inside your head and that is who you are to you; other people see you do ONE thing and judge you entirely on that ONE thing. Or even a series of things, such as other students or co-workers. Only a rare person gets to really know the YOU that is the complete YOU.
Then there is cultural bias: people DO judge another based upon skin color, but also complexion, hair color, eye color, etc., and don't forget: "Clothes do make the man", which of course, means people judge you by the way you dress.

It has been stated through a model known as the "Looking Glass Self" that we use other people as mirrors. We interpret their reactions to us and form conclusions which are a foundation of our self-concept. So, according to this model, a large portion of how we view ourselves is based off of how we interpret other people's reactions towards us.

Neither. Thinking is a flawed method of perceiving something and just because you think that the sky is blue doesn't mean it is (it is constantly changing colors, and we could catch the sky looking red and yellow, or black, or even gray, and just because we think it doesn't necessarily mean that it is or it is made so. You can think that your dog is is possessed, but that doesn't mean that he is or that he isn't or that there is even such thing as possession for that matter. In your reality, you are who you think you are. In my reality, you are who I think you are. But if you believe in a reality, then you are who you are plain and simple.

I don't really see this as an all together bad thing. A well rounded person should be both, therefore, one can be ones self and still keep an air of incognito to others. I see it as a way of self preservation without becoming self destructive

Yeah, I have had people think I'm different than what I know I am. People's perceptions, however, are fleeting and changing. Plus, they are based on that person's character, mind, experiences and culture. For example a person dressed in goth apparell might not be that shocking or rebellious in the US as it might be in Uganda or Bolivia. Also you judge who you are by observing other people's reactions to you behavior. Even though we are always growing and changing as a person, there are some elements of your character and who you know you are are rather permanent. Plus you know yourself even when others aren't looking. People see through their own individual window. So I think you are who you think you are.And since you're gonna have to live with yourself for the rest of your life I would wanna be some I liked :D

We are all actors in our lives. We act one way to our children, another in school, another to friends, another to a lover, another while at work and another when spiritually aware.
My family still thinks of me in one way because I am not around them very much. They don't realize that I have changed and matured in so many ways. They still see the "black sheep" and family "screw-up."

I used to try to get people to like me by acting they way I thought they wanted me to act. I finally came to the enlightened position of knowing that only I can love and like myself. What everyone else thought just didn't matter anymore. I still care about others, but don't allow anyone to take my personal power from me.

When a person becomes true to themselves they are seen for who they really are by all. If they don't like what they see, so what.
Maybe I'm not saying this right, or didn't catch the drift of the question right, just saying things the way I see them.

To be honest with ya, I don't really come across too many people who tell me who they think I am. And by the same token, I'm still tryin' to figure out for myself who I am. I guess I'm just a total enigma. What else can I say?

Oh, it's perfectly a-okay for people to have different views of me....but in no way have these views ever changed the person I am.
I practcally raised myself, only a little help from brothers and my father, and was rather grown-uppy adult at 10! My morals, ethics, personality...all there. I was and am, happy with who I am.

We all have a face to present to the world, and a hidden inner self.

Be true to yourself - and the world will see who you really are.

AS POPEYE USED TO SAY ...........

I YAM WHAT I YAM .........