Know your self
April 2010
By Anil Bhatnagar
Enhance your level of self-awareness by answering these penetrating questions
Respond to this questionnaire quickly, choosing the first answer that comes to your mind, or the one that seems to be valid for you most of the time. This test is not scientific but may give you an idea of your own preferences. To enable you do this test well and to keep the suspense alive, I will not even tell you what it is going to tell about you. At the end you will find the interpretation that will tell you some thing interesting about yourself. However, do not try to find that out unless you complete the test.
The interpretation
Our self-esteem or self-image is the single most vital factor on which our quality of life and sense of fulfilment in life depends. Self-esteem, in turn, depends upon a number of factors. This first of the two-part-test on selfesteem gives us an idea of our personality traits such as decision- making, ability to communicate, self-referral, sense of equality, ability to give and receive feedback, physical energy, and sense of dignity.
| OBSERVATION | Rate yourself on a scale of ‘0’ to ‘5’. (5 if always true for you and ‘0’ if never true for you) | Prefi x (-) or (+) as directed later to the scores in the left column |
| 1 I know when I have done well or not. I do not need others to make me believe it.
2 When I am doing my work, I do not feel good about it or myself, until someone says that I have done a good job. 3 I am image-conscious; I worry whether others agree with me or not, or if they like me. 4 I mostly do things to keep others happy, even at the cost of my own happiness. 5 I can express my views easily, freely and fearlessly, only if seniors or those who may oppose these are not around. 6 Usually I keep quiet and wait for a meeting to end. I avoid expressing myself if too many people are around. 7 I do not like taking decisions because I am not sure of the wisdom of my decisions. I like being told what is to be done. 8 I know that despite my best intentions and efforts, some decisions are bound to go wrong. I gather maximum information from the best sources, analyze, use my intuition, and do my best to arrive at a good decision and then take action. 9 I am often dominated by my bosses, though I do not like it. 10 l let my bosses know for sure that I am co-operative, but that I cannot compromise on my values. I refuse to be dominated. 11 I feel superior when with people of lower social status or abilities, and inferior when with those of higher status or abilities. 12 While interacting with people I keep in mind that despite our roles, hierarchical levels and other differences, we are all equal and have equal rights as human beings. 13 I enjoy abundant enthusiasm and energy during the major part of the day. 14 I focus on improving myself, instead of brooding over my weaknesses. 15 Though I strive for self-improvement, I accept myself as I am. 16 When a senior person praises my performance, I hope secretly that he will never know the real ‘me’ or my bad qualities. 17 I trust the appreciation of others especially when I fi nd it sincere. 18 When my seniors upbraid me, I believe their assessment of me and feel very bad for very long. 19 When others talk disrespectfully to me, I take care not to repeat their words to myself in my mind. 20 I sometimes wonder why I feel inferior in spite of having so many superior qualities in me. Maybe I have never learnt to be an arrogant person. 21 I cannot tolerate people who criticise me. They do not know how easily I get hurt. I feel like bashing them up. I am so sensitive that I tend to take every failure of mine as a personal, pervasive, and permanent failure. 22 I take failure as a feedback on my inputs, which I can use as an important learning to be successful next time. 23 I do not know what to say when praised. I am often not sure if it is a genuine praise or a taunt. 24 When people praise me, I do not care if they mean it or not. I take it as a compliment. 25 I never ever talk disrespectfully to myself. 26 I take criticism as feedback and I take this feedback as a gift. |
For the Serial nos. 1, 8, 10, 12-15, 17, 19, 22 & 24-26 mark your scores with a prefix (+) For Serial nos.2-6, 9, 11, 16, 18, 20, 21 & 23 mark your scores with a prefix (-). Now add up the score.
Scores
50-65: Excellent, 30-50: Good 10-30: Average, Below 10: You need to identify areas with (-) prefix especially where you have scored high, and work on modifying those behaviours one at a time.
Anil Bhatnagar, an IITian, is a corporate trainer on behavioural skills to over 50 leading companies. He is a motivational speaker, a personal growth coach, and a reiki teacher. Contact: www.anilbhatnagar.com