who knows me better than myself

Do you think it's possible for anyone else to know you more than you know yourself? I got into another debate with my mom. She thinks she knows me better than I know myself, and it's getting really irritating. She does know me really well, since she is my mom and she's known me for almost 17 years BUT I know me more. Like, everyone acts a certain way for a certain reason and whatever, she thinks she knows what the reasons are. She thinks I can't possibly know why I am the way I am even though I do, because I'm 16 years old and I don't read psychology books. So, we were on a walk and she's telling me things about myself that simply aren't true. She told me, "You DO care what people think of you." To an extent. I -ONLY- care about what my CLOSE family thinks of me. Friends... I have none. I know who I am and the kind of person I am, so other people's opinions don't matter to me. It would be as if I said "You're a lesbian/atheist. You can deny it all you want, but you are." to my mom. It just really pisses me off... Not what she said, but how she kept running it into the ground, believing that she knows me better than I know myself. And not just about the one thing she brought up. My mom watches too much Dr. Phil. :skull: DEATH TO DR. PHIL! :skull: She thinks she can be a psychologist and she's horrible at it. She said something about me "seeking approval from others" because I don't have a dad. Ahem... Read my "I don't need your approval" shirt. I don't need approval from sluts/drunks/stoners/liars/backstabbers, which is who my mom is referring to the people I supposedly "seek approval from."

I'm done.

I doubt it, I've known myself my whole life.

It's pretty scary when you are thinking smth and my dad says 'don't even dare to think of ....' and he guess what I was thinking! And soemtimes he tells me smth that i was about to think... Trust me it's creepy :( although I know myself pretty well!

But there's a difference between anticipating an action, and, as mentioned "knowing oneself better than you do."

Personally? No. Eveyone has little bits of themselves that even they haven't fully explored. A darker side, hidden potential, what have you. My point is...only you know about these facets....no one else.

I agree with your mother, but not for the reasons that she thinks are correct. Your parents (DEFINITELY), your siblings (high chance depending on how close you were with them, and even then, they will know you better sometimes), and possibly your significant other (easy to assume, but with the divorce rates in the world, I'd hold out on this one). Best friends can, depending on how close you are with that friend and how much you confide in them.

It doesn't matter how much your mother reads psychology books. Your parents know you the best (assuming you still have them), and that's the end of the discussion. To deny that is denying that they are a significant part of your life. Even sometimes, people do things, and they have NO IDEA why they did them. Most parents would be able to explain that of their own children as well, assuming that they get past the "ohh, my children are the best because they represent me." They brought you into this life, and has to waste more than half of their paycheck to support you. If they didn't invest in you as a person and emotionally, then what was the point of them using that money? They could've easily neglected you, and done whatever they wanted; but they didn't.

Besides your parents, your siblings (if you have any) are likely to know you just as well. Unlike parents and friends, siblings are always there, whether or not you deny their existence willingly. They also contribute as a large factor in your personal development, but that is not what needs to be discussed here. If you have lots of friends, then there is no one that you personally confide in. However, the group is often able to tell whether something is wrong, as a group. But if you have few friends, and you trust them much more than anyone else, then they will definitely know you. Significant others are easy to explain, as it is all about trust in the other.

However, no one said you had to listen to your parents when they ramble on.

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes people close to you can see things you cannot, or refuse to see, for whatever reason.

Not overall, but there are some things, as Dan said, that someone else can point out about you that you weren't aware of. I do this with a few people.

Identity refraction: Everyone preseves you by your actions, and create different Identities for you based on what they see. You act differently in different settings.

No; you can never know yourself completely as you will never be a constant. Basically, no one will ever really know you based on simple day to day observation.

Bipper

I know LITTLE MANUS pretty well. :bigsmile:

No because no-one else has been with 24/7/52/12;)

I have secrets which no one knows of, and qualities of myself no one knows of. So nobody knows me better than I know myself.

No one, because most of us are most comfortable with ourselves when we are alone by ourselves.You both consciously and unconsciously know yourself. Something that others can only presume. Unless you're a person who is in denial, or aloof then I don't think anyone can know you more than you know yourself.

Whether somebody can ever know you better than you know yourself, depends on how self-aware you are.

Nobody knows me better than myself, I'm certain. And my family doesn't know me all that well, anyway. I act differently around family than friends, to the extent of being a different person.

It probably just depends person to person. I don't talk to either of my parents and if you asked them what my personality is they couldn't even tell you, so they certaintly don't know me better then I do. Unless you are a compulsive liar or live in a huge denial bubble, I'm sure you know you the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kyono

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes people close to you can see things you cannot, or refuse to see, for whatever reason.

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Yeah, that's how hubbie and I are with each other. I do surprise him every once in a while with something he wasn't expecting. My Dad and I are like that too, mainly because we have a similar personality...