This Self-Image Assessment is an exercise to help us appreciate two different ways we might see ourselves. It is not informed by a psychologist, nor should it be given any deeper credence other than to appreciate how differently we may choose to see ourselves.
To do the exercise, print out the two pages, then quickly highlight or circle all the adjectives that resonate with how you feel in this moment. Don’t spent more than about 30 seconds on each page. It should be what first comes to your mind when you read a word. Does that resonate with how you feel in this moment?
Find someone to read back your Self-Image Assessment



Find a mirror to observe yourself while you do this exercise. If you don’t have one, close your eyes while the reader reads to you. Once you’ve highlighted both pages, find someone to read them back to you while you observe yourself in a mirror as follows:
- You should watch yourself in the mirror while you listen.
– The reader starts: “I’m going to read all the words you did not choose from the first page.”
– Then they read all the words you did not select from the first page.
– Then they pause briefly, and continue…
– The reader says: “I’m going to read words you did choose from the second page page.”
– Then they read all the words you selected from the second page.
– Then the reader follows: “Breath in a few times and tell me how you feel.” - You should again observe yourself in the mirror and listen.
– The reader starts: “I’m going to read all the words you did choose from the first page.”
– Then they read all the words you selected from the first page.
– Then they pause briefly, and continue…
– The reader says: “I’m going to read words you did not choose from the second page page.”
– Then they read all the words you did not select from the second page.
– Then the reader follows: “Breath in a few times and tell me how you feel.”
Self-Image Assessment Adjectives
Half-Empty or Half-Full?
For most of us, how we see ourselves in the mirror can be greatly influenced by what we focus on. Typically, it’s a real downer to hear all the positive adjectives we did not choose and all the negative adjectives we did choose. Conversely, it can be quite uplifting to all the positive things we chose and all the negative things we did not choose.
I chose the reading order above to hopefully leave you uplifted and aware that noticing the positive aspects tends to leave us in a much better state. This happens despite the fact that both readings are objectively coming from the same list with the same set of words you choose.
You can do this exercise from different mindsets:
- Which words resonate most with you when you think of yourself at home?
- Which words resonate most with you when you think of yourself at work?
- Which words resonate most with you when you think of yourself amongst your friends?
- Which words resonate most with you when you think of yourself at the gym?
- Which words resonate most with you when you think of yourself at a social event?
- …
As a reminder, this is not an assessment designed by a psychologist. I chose the adjectives somewhat hap-haphazardly myself to reflect emotions we might feel in a given situation or environment. This is simply an exercise to help us appreciate how different we can feel looking at something, or ourselves when noticing the positive things that are present and the negative things that are not present.
See Also
What the Mirror Can Teach You About Yourself: Advice from a Mirror Gazing Expert
After writing this post on Radical Candor in the Mirror, I discovered some related posts by Tara Well in Psychology Today and other sources. Dr. Tara Well is an associate professor of psychology at Barnard College of Columbia University where she developed the mirror-based meditation called “a revelation” in the New York Times.
- What Mirror Meditation Can Teach You – Coming face-to-face with yourself is powerful.
- Why Looking in the Mirror Can Help Fight Despair – A counterintuitive approach to dealing with a new reality
- Why Is Seeing Your Own Reflection So Important? Four research findings from neuroscience that you need to know
- Compassion at the Mirror – Does it really work?
- Mirror Meditation – A research-based meditation
- Podcast X91: Mirror Meditation for Self-Reflection and Seeing Your True Self with Tara Well
- Podcast: Dr. Tara Well, PhD – Psychologist, Mirror Meditation Expert, and TED Speaker
- Book: Mirror Meditation: The Power of Neuroscience and Self-Reflection to Overcome Self-Criticism, Gain Confidence, and See Yourself with Compassion
- TEDx Talk: What Mirror Meditation Can Teach You