Misperceptions

How to do this...without being specific.... Ok....the pronouns in this are general purpose.....could stand for anyone. So...say a lot of people have an opinion of who you are as a person, or about some aspect of your personality....and when I say a lot, I mean, more than 50% of the people that you know &/or associate with on a regular basis. So the opinion/perception.....maybe they think you're ignorant, or a hypocrite....maybe they think you're racist or a slut, or selfish/self-centered...just think of something along these lines. However....you don't think of yourself in this way at all....you've gotten good grades in school & read the newspaper daily, so you can't be ignorant, or you have lots of minority friends, so you can't be racist....you get the point.... So....if a lot of people formed an opinion of you, that you believed was wrong, unfair, unjust, whatever.....would you try to find out what the behaviors or actions are that you exhibit that cause people to form this opinion of you? And if you actually did figure out what it was that you were doing.....would you try to change it somehow, so that people would not have such a negative opinion of you? Like say if you always told racist jokes, or you flirted with anyone with a pulse & brainwaves, or you had a habit of acting &/or talking without thinking things through.....would you try to tone it down, change it....or just say screw them all, I know they're wrong & sooner or later, people will see the real me....?