all eyes on you? 👀

You’ve landed on Sugar Cereal: a weekly bite of behavioral science to make sense of people, choices, and your own brain.

It’s one-part quirky, one-part practical, and 100% good for your inner know-it-all. 🧠

Let’s crack open this week’s box.

light it up 🔦

Ever walked into a room and immediately thought everyone’s looking at me?

Maybe your shirt has a weird wrinkle. Maybe you sneezed too loud. Maybe you said “you too” when the waitress said “enjoy your meal.” 🫠

Well, here’s the good news: it’s likely no one noticed.

That feeling is called the Spotlight Effect, and psychologists Gilovich, Medvec, and Savitsky coined the term in 2000. They found that we greatly overestimate how much other people notice or care about what we’re doing, especially when we feel awkward or embarrassed.

In one study, college students wore a cringey Barry Manilow t-shirt into a room full of strangers and then estimated how many people noticed it. Participants thought nearly half the room would remember the shirt.

The reality? Less than 25% even noticed it. Turns out our brain’s blowing up a moment that, for everyone else, barely exists.

Alright, now that we’ve dimmed that imaginary spotlight, here’s how to use it to your advantage:

🎤 About to give a pitch or presentation?
Remind yourself: they’re not watching your every move. They’re busy worrying about theirs.

🤝 Meeting someone important?
Shift the spotlight by asking a question. People love talking about themselves and it takes the heat off you.

📉 Obsessing over something awkward you said?
Play the Barry Manilow test: would you remember if someone else did that? (Probably not.)

Listen, confidence is less about being flawless and more about knowing people forget… pretty fast.

Be the kind of person you wish was in the room with you. 😊

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