How do you think of yourself? How do you want others to think of you? How do you think others really think of you? And what kind of behavior would it take on your part to make the three coherent?
For example, there is still a flaky 17 year old somewhere inside of me. I have a hard time feeling (almost) thirty-five sometimes because to me, being thirty-five denotes responsibility and grown-upness. But others think of me as grown-up and responsible, a ‘Get Things Done’ kind of person, because in fact, I am in part a boring, ‘Get Things Done’ kind of person.
Another example: I feel like I’m bad with money. That should come as no surprise to you- it’s why I started writing Almost Frugal! But on the other hand, people think of me as being frugal, again, because of Almost Frugal. So what kind of behavior would it take to bring the two ideas together? Well, a bit more saving and a bit less spending, a whole lot more budgeting and maybe a bit of the envelope system tossed in for good measure. You know- the oldies but goodies.
The other day, I did a presentation for a local association of job seekers on how to effectively control your online presence. In other words, when a potential employer does a Google search for your name, what do they find? One of the things I mentioned as helping people to control their message, and thus how others think of or perceive them, was to use the same photo everywhere. Then I showed this picture:
Yeah, that’s me all right. It’s what you’ll find on my Twitter page, my personal Facebook page, my website, my LinkedIn profile and so on and so forth. Basically, every place that I am online, you’ll find that picture.
But what does it say about me? Certainly not the image that I want to project: that I am an interesting, smart, confident qualified person, who’s full of life and good stories. No, this picture is more the flaky seventeen year-old who needed a picture for her resume.
So when I had the opportunity to have some professional pictures taken at a fabulous price (€20) as part of my networking organization, I jumped at the chance. And got this one, to boot:
Better, non?*
Now as to the last question at the beginning of the post: “what kind of behavior would it take on your part to make the three coherent?“, well, I don’t think a picture is worth a thousand words. But I do think it is worth trying to figure out (best done with friends and a nice bottle of wine), how well the way you feel inside matches the image you project to others. And once you’ve figured that out, try and figure out what you need to do to make the two match up better.
That’s a story for another post, however!
* There is another, more traditional version of a head shot, on my About page.
Your turn:
- How do you think of yourself?
- How do you want others to think of you?
- How do you think others really think of you?
- And what kind of behavior would it take on your part to make the three coherent?
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{ 5 comments }
What a fine post! I can see the conflicts in your character that you’re talking about. But guess what? It’s true of most of us–though I think things do start coming together as you get older–by which I mean a lot older than 35. But all this resolution comes at a price. There’s a little less spark and a little less enthusiasm once you sort it out. So, I think we should all be happy with where we are.
I love the new picture–but in fact, both pictures are the REAL you!
The old photo is nice, but you have changed your eyeglasses. So it’s time for a re-do!
.-= Monroe on a Budget´s last blog ..Military Children Scholarship application season opens =-.
Such a Wonderful post Kelly!! Eventhough your second photo is a professional photo, I love that it still looks like you and is so natural! You are beautiful!!
Now to answer your questions 🙂
* How do you think of yourself?
I think of myself as a social entrepreneur that never stops with the heart of a child. I plan for the future, but always find special indulgence in the little things (Cotton Candy, Rollercoasters, Cheese) However, I'm not frugal – it's something I'm working on and learning more and more about.
* How do you want others to think of you?
I want others to think of me as a Fun, Kind, Intelligent, Hard Working, Christian who's Going Places!
* How do you think others really think of you?
Other people have told me that they think of me as intelligent and hardworking, sweet, and a fashionista.
* And what kind of behavior would it take on your part to make the three coherent?
It is very hard for me to *not* compartmentalize my life. I immerse myself in my Church, Fashion, and Social Media – pulling all of those together is difficult for me. So making these three coherent is hard for me too.
I would love to hear advice from your other readers on this! 🙂
.-= Charissa Cowart´s last blog ..Online Spending Projected to Grow 24 Percent Compared to Q3 2009 =-.
Great post! I love the new pic. .. you’re right, we should think about how we’re presenting ourselves!
.-= Amy Reads Good Books´s last blog ..Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban =-.
Sadly, I am just catching up on my blog reading now. You have inspired me to think a little more about how I look online and get some professional photos finally taken. As usual a very thoughtful post!
.-= Nicole at Breaking Even´s last blog ..This Week In Business: Switched Around Week Edition =-.