Do you allow others to influence your life (too much)? Find out!

Sometimes people change what they're about to do, change what they think or just do what others tell them when it's not really necessary. What about you, do you allow other people to make decisions for your own sake? Take our test and find out now!

1. Fashion

Most of us do care about our style and how we look. Fashion magazines and influencers on social media try to show us which dress to take, which brand to buy and which style we should follow. How do you dress?

a) I look at other people, I watch posts on social media and I try to follow what comes into fashion.

b) I have found my style a while ago, I try to stay up-to-date but there are other things in life which are more important to me than fashion.

c) I don’t understand this question, who cares what I am wearing?

2. Social Media

Many people present their lives on social media. They upload pictures of their wellbeing, of their homes, their pets and their food. Some even share very private things with the public. How do you behave on your social media account(s)?

a) I’m posting pictures of me or my life regularly.

b) Sometimes I share some pictures with closer friends and I watch other people’s activities from time to time.

c) I have no time for these baubles as my life is taking place in the real world.

3. Family and friends

Sometimes, the people close to us provide us a different picture than how we see us ourselves. Our family and our friends know us better than we do sometimes. If they notice we are doing wrong, they should tell us. How to you react on these kinds of interventions?

a) I take this very serious.

b) I listen, I try to understand and I will follow their advice where necessary.

c) I don’t care! I know my life better than anybody else.

4. Strangers

Imagine you are sitting in a crowded bus or a tramway and an old lady enters. There is no place to sit for her anymore. What do you do?

a) I cannot stand the look of the others, how can I sit while this lady is standing in the bus? I will get up and offer her my chair.

b) If no one else offers her a chair, I would do it.

c) It saddens me reading this, our government should take some measures to have sufficient chairs for everybody on the bus!

5. Professional life

Imagine you receive a new task at work which you’ve never had to do before. What’s you reaction?

a) I refuse this task to not disappoint my boss because it’s possible that I will fail

b) I ask others for help

c) Trial and error – that’s my motto!

6. Caring about others

You’re walking outside and you see a homeless guy on the sidewalk. He asks you for some money to buy food. What do you answer?

a) I think this is heartbreaking. Hopefully I will never get in this situation, it takes me a while to get this picture out of my head. Of course I will help him.

b) If I have some coins left, I would donate them.

c) I try to ignore this guy.

7. Traffic

Imagine you are on a highway on the fast lane. You see a car coming very fast from behind, flashing his headlights. What are you going to do?

a) I change to the right lane immediately, let this guy pass, maybe he is in a hurry.

b) I try to ignore him until the traffic situation allows me to change my lane.

c) I keep riding on the left lane, I am in a hurry too, what the hell is his problem?

8. Speaking in front of an audience

Imagine that you have to speak in front of a large audience. What will be your reaction?

a) This is one of my worst nightmares!

b) Well I try not to be too nervous and to keep my voice loud and clear.

c) No problem, I can do this!

9. The ATM

You try to get money from the ATM but there seems to be a problem with your debit card. People are waiting behind you in a queue. What’s your reaction?

a) I will try again later.

b) I will try one or two more times while explaining myself to the person waiting behind me.

c) I try again and again, until it works.

10. Showing emotions in public

Are you able to show your emotions even when you are in public and everybody can see it?

a) Never

b) I try to keep calm

c) I don’t care if I am in public or in private, hiding emotions is more problematic to me than showing them to strangers

11. To be alone

When you are alone, what do you feel?

a) I miss the people around me and I get bored quite fast.

b) This is ok, as long as it does not last forever.

c) I enjoy being alone, too many people means too many problems.

12. Joking with other people

Imagine you are together with friends and you make a joke, but no one laughs. What will be your reaction?

a) I’m totally embarrassed, I feel bad about trying to make the joke.

b) Maybe I should repeat it?

c) This happens quite often, people usually do not understand my jokes

Summary

Please count the points of each answer: Each a) answer gets 1 point, each b) answer gets 2 points and each c) answer receives 3 points.

12 - 15 Points

Yes, you care about what people around you think and say. This is a good thing, as we all depend on others from time to time. But it could be worth to consider  if you are not overrating other people’s opinions. Sometimes we need to stand up for our own purpose, sometimes we need to trust in our own skills. For these situations, being a bit more independant can be helpful.

16 - 24 Points

You seem to be an even-tempered person with a big heart for other people. You know that you are not alone on this earth. You are strong enough to make your own decisions even when other people give you divergent advice. You are not free of the influence of others, but it seems you are handling it the right way.

25 - 31 Points

You are an independent and self-reliant personality that doesn’t need to ask for other people’s opinions. You think about the others, but they won’t influence your life too much. Do you care enough about the people around you? Maybe it would be a good idea to listen more to the others sometimes. You do not need to follow other people’s advices, but maybe they can broaden your perspective or give you some inputs you never thought about?   

32 - 36 Points

Congratulations, nobody influences your life or your decisions, you are real autonomous! But if others care about you - do you care about them? As we do not live in a vacuum, our actions, our thoughts and our feelings often are related to other people. So it can be helpful sometimes to see, listen and understand other people’s behavior. Being a little bit more open to other influences will enrich your life and can bring you some fresh new ideas or thoughts.