It took me a while to figure this one out, but at some point, I realized that people who have to be the center of attention at all times are actually pretty insecure.

But I bet you probably already knew about that one, didn’t you…?

What are some other signs of insecurity?

Check out what AskReddit users had to say about this.

1. Get over it.

“Obsessing over hierarchies, or who is ‘ahead’ and who is ‘behind’ in life.

I have a friend that literally only wants to talk about ahead and behind. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first time seeing him in literal months. It’s all he wants to talk about.

I mean he has really done well for himself compared to most others in our social group, and good for him, but I have my own insecurities about being one of the behinds and would love to not be reminded of this fact when I’m out trying to have a good time.”

2. Yuck.

“I’m an Alpha Male.

You’re unstable and not fit for the public? Got it!”

3. We get it.

“Mocking other people’s physical features or personal character traits.

We get it, you’re projecting.”

4. It’s good for you!

“They can’t take constructive criticism.

I’m 42 and only a couple of years ago realized hearing constructive criticisms is not the same as being attacked.

Trying every day to quit being so sensitive. I’m getting much better at it, and life is better.”

5. Sad and sorry.

“Very specific but just thought of those people in the workplace who are constantly afraid of losing their position & carry a very passive aggressive attitude.

They also constantly gossip to other coworkers/higher ups about you behind your back, constantly nitpicking at little problems to make you look bad. It’s a sad, sorry defense mechanism.”

6. You know someone like this.

“Domineering, loud and braggadocious.

Constantly fishing for compliments and approval – e.g will speak poorly of themselves in hopes of receiving compliments.

People who speak poorly of others who are happy and enjoying life are also insecure IMO especially speaking poorly of people who have more money than them.”

7. Definitely.

“Overcompensating: Someone who is insecure may try to overcompensate by boasting or exaggerating their achievements or abilities.”

8. Here we go again.

“Trying to justify every “mistake”, usually its minimal, but once you notice someone that does it, you just cant stop noticing it when they do it.”

9. Lighten up.

“They can’t make fun of themselves.

I had a co-worker like this. He LOVED nothing more than to mock other people and poke fun at them. If you said anything about him he ran to HR so fast.

We all got pulled into a meeting one day (without him) and were told that we were NOT allowed under any circumstances to poke fun at him. We could with anyone else on the team and that was fine but not him. Not ever. Not under any circumstances.

He continued to mock us all the time and he continued to pile on any time anyone on the team was being mocked for something but we were not allowed to say anything back to him. It sucked so bad.”

10. Be on the lookout.

“The three I always look out for are:

Overt displays of intelligence/prowess.

Belittling others.

A need to closely monitor the behaviour of others.”

11. Listen once in a while…

“Talking over others.

It’s a quality that seems confident but in reality the underlying reason is usually that the interrupting person is just trying to prove something and has zero interest in what you have to say.”

12. Just own it.

“Throwing people under the bus.

Every time you think you got away with blaming someone else for your f**k up, you didn’t.

All it does is show the rest of us that we can’t trust you, and that this wasn’t a one-time thing, you’re so used to being incompetent that you have a workaround for it.”

What do you think about this?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know.

We look forward to it!