The Self-Awareness Paradox: Why 95% of Us Are Wrong About Ourselves
You're not as self-aware as you think (and neither am I)
Amanda Stern
September 24, 2025
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The Self-Awareness Paradox: Why 95% of Us Are Wrong About Ourselves
It’s far easier to feel wonderful and special than to become wonderful and special.
You think you know yourself. I think I know myself. Most people think they know themselves.
Turns out, nearly all of us are wrong.
In 2014, organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, an expert on building self-awareness, and a team of researchers embarked on a large-scale scientific study. They wanted to know whether there was a way to increase self-awareness.
While the team’s interest was on leadership in the workplace, Eurich’s findings are helpful for anyone interested in increasing their self-awareness.
Along the way, Eurich’s team came across some interesting figures. “Our data reveals that 95 percent of people believe they are self-aware, but the real number is 12 to 15 percent,” Eurich says. “That means, on a good day, about 80 percent of people are lying about themselves—to themselves.”
What’s that now?
Am I lying to myself?
Are you?
Turns out, the answer is yes.
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Eurich discovered that what we’ve always believed about self-awareness is only half the story.
We think it means knowing ourselves deeply.
But there’s another half—and it’s hiding in plain sight.
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