UNIT 1: Getting to Know One's Self Self-Esteem - When you evaluate yourself against relationships with others.

relationships with others. In 1902, American

Lesson 1: Taking a Look at Oneself others based on your knowledge of yourself, your sociologist Charles Horton Cooley popularized the
self-esteem is affected. Self-concept is greatly concept of the looking glass self wherein he
Self-Concept - Everything that you know about associated with self-esteem, which is the value that theorizes that people around you serve as mirrors that
yourself is called self-concept. It is your perception of you put on what you know about yourself. It is a reflect how you see yourself. merely reinforce others'
yourself, how you define and understand yourself as a positive or negative self-evaluation of the self-concept Impressions and build this idea of yourself based on
multi-dimensional (physical, spiritual, emotional, that could be based on your performance or behavior these interactions. And so, based on this, if you think
social, and moral) human being. It, not only involve or your interaction with others. There are moments that others have a negative perception You of you,
the present perception of you, but also take into play when you arrive at a distorted or inaccurate this creates a negative self-concept and low
one's past and future self-thereby, making evaluation of yourself. This is because of the self-esteem.
self-concept a vibrant representation of who you are. subjective nature of self-concept, wherein the
There are different ways that you can perceive information you have of yourself is heavily based on There are many social factors that influence your
yourself because of cultural differences and perceptions. But in any case, your high or low self-concept and self-esteem. How you come to know
environmental factors. However, among all these self-esteem may also affect your self-worth (how who you are is influenced by the ways other people
varying self-concepts lie three essential components: much you value yourself) and your self-efficacy (the react to you. When you receive positive reactions to
1) physical characteristics, 2) personality traits, and 3) belief and confidence that you can accomplish tasks your skills and traits, you develop a positive idea of
social Identity. and control your environment). yourself.However, when your behavior is ignored or
reacted negatively, your self-concept turns sour as
●​ Physical characteristics are used to REMEMBER ME! well and you end up with negative judgments of
describe how you look in either a positive or yourself. Comparing yourself to others also affect
negative way; ●​ Self-concept: your perception of yourself, what you know and think of yourself. If you perceive
●​ Personality traits are the stable how you define and understand yourself as a others to be more successful than you, it is probable
characteristics that determine your behavior, multi-dimensional (physical, spiritual, that you do not think highly of yourself and vice versa.
and emotional, social, and morali human being However, of course, such comparisons can also be a
●​ Social identity would refer to the social ●​ Self-esteem: a positive or negative source of motivation to make the self better and give
group where you belong. Self-concepts are self-evaluation of the self-concept more value to the self. The extent to which you
never simple, given the differences in ●​ Self-worth: how much you value yourself identify with other people around you is a factor in
backgrounds of individuals. ●​ Self-efficacy: your belief and confidence how you perceive yourself.
●​ Self-complexity, or the different ways in that you can accomplish tasks and control
which you think about yourself, can be high your environment Self-Awareness - When one can access his
or low according to researchers. If you have ●​ Self-Complexity: the different ways in which knowledge of himself easily, that person is said to be
a lot of social identities, such as a daughter, you think about yourself self-aware. Self-awareness is the ability to know
student, volleyball team captain, friend, yourself extensively, not just regarding traits and
sister- you are said to have high complexity. characteristics, but also knowing your inner state and
All of these components determine how you Self-Concept as a Product of Social Relationships how you think. It is a deeper understanding of your
are different or unique from others, and how emotions, belief systems, and patterns in behavior
you evaluate yourself against others. One of the propositions made about self-concept that and thought that should allow us to effectively redirect
directly affects self-esteem is that what you know negative traits into positive ones if needed. Therefore,
about yourself is primarily a product of your to be self-aware, you must attempt to be
non-judgmental and unbiased in assessing or ●​ Self-Concept Clarity: Having a clear and you are, you can openly communicate yourself and
understanding yourself. defined self-concept what you want to others. This will create better
understanding between yourself and others, and
In 1972, psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Self-awareness comes in two types: internal consequently, a more satisfying relationship. Being
Wicklund first studied self-awareness and stated in self-awareness and external self-awareness. Internal accepting of your flaws and strengths makes it easier
the self-awareness theory that when you focus on self-awareness refers to clearly seeing your inner to reach compromises when needed because you are
yourself, there is the tendency to compare. what you self-your personalities, values, desires, reactions, and secure about yourself and does not feel that your
currently observe to the standards you set for impact on other people. External self-awareness self-concept is being threatened. Becoming
yourself. And when there is a mismatch between your involves understanding how others see you. The goal self-aware Includes learning to take responsibility for
ideal self and your actual self, this becomes a source here is to attempt to reach a balance of both types of your actions instead of blaming others and the
of distress for you and is much likely to affect your awareness to know yourself well and to receive environment, which makes you clearly see other
self-esteem. In the same way, if the ideal self is feedback on how others see you. perspectives of an issue as well. Awareness of the
consistent with the actual self, you react positively. self leads to a more conscious way of acting towards
This is what the self-discrepancy theory states. In A study made by Dr. Tasha Eurich for the Harvard others, Instead of passively interacting with them.
effect, people who are highly self-aware feel more Business Review shows four types of individuals and This results in more empathy and compassion, a must
pressure to live up to their ideals as compared to how you exhibit internal and external self- awareness. in any healthy relationship. Your awareness of your
those who do not know themselves well enough. It represents the different categories of your emotional needs, behaviors, interaction patterns, and
self-awareness with the mixture of its Internal and a better understanding of yourself as a relational
The goal then is to have a clear and defined external types. This categorizes your knowledge of being allows you to become more conscious of your
self-concept. Having high self-concept clarity helps yourself and of others. interactions with others, as well as make healthy
you and your desire to become self-aware by decisions that affect yourself and others around you.
providing a more stable view of your positive traits.
This creates higher self-esteem and less vulnerability Knowing Yourself and Dealing With Others
to the stress caused by inconsistencies between the Steps to Self-Awareness
actual self and ideal self. The more well-defined and An individual who is well-aware of his strengths and
stable your self-concept is, the more capable you weaknesses is an empowered individual. If you are Self-awareness is important at any stage in your life.
become in addressing mismatches you will encounter highly self-aware individual, you are more capable of Here are some ways to become more self-aware to
of yourself. being able to accept responsibility for your actions be able to achieve success in relationships and other
REMEMBER ME! and more capable of being Independent of the aspects of life.
negative influences of others. Because you are more
●​ Self-Awareness Theory: When you focus observant of yourself and your responses to certain ●​ Ask yourself why. Before you act or decide
on yourself, there is the tendency to situations, you can make smarter choices In life, has on anything, it is always a good idea to know
compare what you currently observe to the more control of your experiences, and can also why you are going to do what you are about
standards you set for yourself. realize the need to change negative patterns of to do. Understanding the intentions behind
●​ Self-Discrepancy Theory: When there is a behavior when needed. your actions lets you to become more aware
mismatch between your ideal self and your of your thought processes and will allow you
actual self, this becomes a source of distress Knowing yourself well also allows you to be able to to make smarter decisions.
for you and is much likely to affect your deal better with others and in the process, create ●​ Delay gratification. Being able to control
self-esteem. more meaningful relationships. When you know who yourself by not quickly giving in to
 temptations allows you to practice saying no
to negative influences that may affect you
later on. This gives you a chance to
strengthen your sense of self.
●​ Take feedback constructively. Learn to
accept what others say about you and use It
to improve yourself. Remember that
self-awareness is a healthy balance between
understanding yourself and how others see
you.
●​ Let go of biases. Before you make any
auto-pilot reactions to a situation, make sure
you stop and think about the different sides
of the situation. Question yourself and
challenge yourself as to why you believe in
such things. Be objective and re-assess your
responses to others.
●​ Use tools to know yourself. Experts have
come up with different ways for individuals to
learn about their personality types, which are
fortunately readily available to you online.
Knowing where you stand in the
Myers-Briggs personality exam and introvert
extrovert spectrum, as well as reasonably
assessing yourself through a SWOT analysis
and Johar's Window, can give you a better
idea of who you are.
●​ Reflect often. Taking time to think quietly
through meditation or simple reflection will
help you become more self-aware. Keep a
journal to see how your thoughts and actions
progress. Learn from the mistakes you have
made, and always keep yourself in check.