Self Concept: Do you know who you are?

     Have you ever asked yourself, “Who am I?” It’s a question I’m sure all of us have asked ourselves once, twice, or many of times. I have asked myself that question more times than I can count. So who are you? What is your self-concept? What is your identity? And the biggest question, do you know your own self?

     First off, what is self-concept anyways? Self-concept is a set of the ideas that you have about the kind of person you are. This is also known as your identity. There are three characteristics to self-concept: They are multifaceted, partly subjective, and enduring but changeable.

1)     Multifaceted:

        When you think about yourself, we are actually a collection of smaller and smaller selves. For starters, we may think of our name, like mine is Valerie. I’m female. I’m German and Polish with a little Gypsy. I’m a loyal friend. I’m a honest and true individual. These are just pieces of myself. I still have so many other pieces to dig out. For instance; I’m a college student, a girlfriend, a daughter, a graphic designer, a neighbor that has to stomp on the floor to get the neighbors below me to turn their awful music down. There are so many hidden subjects about ourselves. Some subjects can be seen by others while you can’t yourself realize it’s there. Have you heard of the Johari Window? It’s a visual representation of components of yourself that are known or unknown to yourself and to others. Here’s a link to show you what the Johari Window looks like: http://akidpogi.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/johari-window.jpg.


     Try filling this window out. Do you know what is known/unknown about yourself, and known by others? 


2)     Partly Subjective:

        “Who am I?” also deals with objective facts in detail about ourselves. They are based on a fact and not opinions. You can have a choice about this objective fact. For instance, I was born in Michigan, but I chose to move to Indiana. I have brown eyes, but I can change that by putting in blue contacts to have blue eyes. Although there are objective facts, there’s also subjective. What subjective means is we can base ourselves in impressions. Sometimes these opinions about ourselves can be irrationally positive. Some people have unrealistic ideas about their special traits, talents, intelligence, or physical appearance. Some may be positive judgments, but others can be negative as well; low self-esteem. There are people who don’t look at their positive side and their abilities. They look at their failures instead. They never look back on their accomplishments. If someone sees that they are unintelligent, they act upon that and think it’s true. If someone is told that they will never mount to be anything in this world, that’s what they will think and become. Without seeing our positive subjective sides, we will become what other’s see.


3)     Enduring but Changeable:

        Self-concept just doesn’t appear and stay, although. It grows and develops over time. It may be a long process to understand who we are, but in the end it’s worth it. There are many things that can affect how self-concept develops. For instance, the people we associate with, those that influence us, role models, biological makeup, how we were raised, and by those that judge us negatively. Our self-concept can change and change again depending on who and what surrounds you. I, for one, had low self-esteem in my teenage years. I still do just because I had others who would say negative things about me in high school. They said I wasn’t intelligent, and that I was ugly. I thought these were facts and that I would always be this way. SO NOT TRUE! As I grew, I realized I’m not stupid and I’m not ugly! I’m an intelligent, beautiful, caring woman. I’m quiet, enthusiastic, shy, trustworthy, and loyal. I’m a procrastinator, and still have self-esteem issues. I may not be perfect, but really….who is? You are yourself. You’re not like others. Not every event may change your self-concept, but instead, it’s you who changes it. You’re the one in control. Not others.

     So why don’t you try asking yourself again, “Who am I?” Write down what you think. Start with the basics. Are you a mother or father? Are you a daughter or son? Are you a volunteer? Then start categorizing the little details as in your personality and so on. Try out the Johari Window. You know what; let me give you a website that my Interpersonal Communications instructor gave me: http://kevan.org/johari.  Try filling this out, and send it to your friends and family. Have them fill it out and see who you think you are and what others perceive you as. Try it. I dare you! You’ll learn more about yourself, and realize who you are.


     I have another great website that you should check! 
       
          http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201006/who-am-i