1. Your perspective on yourself is distorted.

2. Your motives are often a complete mystery to you.

3. Outward appearances tell people a lot about you.

4. Gaining some distance can help you know yourself better.

5. We too often think we are better at something than we are.

6. People who tear themselves down experience setbacks more frequently.

7. You deceive yourself without realizing it.

8. The “true self” is good for you.

9. Insecure people tend to behave more morally.

10. If you think of yourself as flexible, you will do much better.

And the moral of the story? According to researchers, self-knowledge is even more difficult to attain than has been thought. Contemporary psychology has fundamentally questioned the notion that we can know ourselves objectively and with finality. It has made it clear that the self is not a “thing” but rather a process of continual adaptation to changing circumstances. And the fact that we so often see ourselves as more competent, moral and stable than we actually are serves our ability to adapt.