Essay Example on Grow Self-Awareness: Exploring the Power of Self-Concept

Introduction

People not only grow in age, body size, or knowledge, but also in their self-awareness as human beings. Psychologists consent that the "self-concept" is a multidirectional and multidimensional phenomenon (Hattie, 2014). This is because people have many varying ways of viewing themselves and moulding themselves, depending on the circumstances and environment. Often, we compare ourselves to others as well as try to understand how other people perceive us. It is this tendency that influences us to redefine our self-concept accordingly. Psychologist Charles H. Cooley first coined this phenomenon as the "looking glass self" (Hattie, 2014). Thus, self-concept can best be described as having a clear understanding of oneself. On the other hand, self-esteem deals with how people see themselves and how they perceive how other individuals see and talk about them (Baumeister, 2009). Thus, self-esteem is considered to be a facet of self-concept (Branden, 2011; Campbell, 1990). In the past, I have never allocated time to reflect on who I am, and more importantly, what has influenced me to be who I am today. It is in this light that I have dedicated time to reflect on the factors that have shaped my current self-esteem as well as identify areas of personal vulnerability. Further, the discussion also expounds on areas that I need to work on to improve my current self-esteem.

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Prelude to exploring factors that have contributed to my current self-esteem, I find it paramount first to have a clear understanding of what encompasses self-esteem. In the simplest terms, self-esteem can be defined as a personal evaluation of one's own worth (Branden, 2011). It encompasses what people believe about themselves; for example, "I am unworthy," I am loved," and many more (Abdel-Khalek, 2016). Also, it includes emotional states, such as shame, pride, triumph, and despair. An individual with positive feelings concerning themselves is said to have high-esteem (Abdel-Khalek, 2016). However, it should be noted that self-esteem can refer to a specific domain in life. For example, one may have low-self-esteem in regards to their physical look but high self-esteem in their work. Self-esteem is considered to be a major psychological construct since it helps to predict certain outcomes, including happiness, academic achievement, criminal behaviors, and satisfaction in relationships.

Factors that have shaped my current self-esteem

To a larger extent, self-esteem is impacted by self-image. In simple terms, the concept of self-image refers to physical looks (Mruk, 2013). Thus, if an individual is happy with his or her self-image; then, it means that his or her self-esteem is affected positively (Mruk, 2013). The contrary is also true- individuals who are unhappy with their self-image have low self-esteem.

Reflecting on my self-image, I believe that I am an attractive and charming woman. This is because I am good looking and always happy with my body shape. Moreover, throughout my life, I have encountered many unfamiliar people that have expressed to me how good how I look. Markedly, this is an additional reason why I believe that my self-image is unique and very attractive. Overall, the fact that I am always happy with the way I look has been a critical factor that has significantly shaped my self-esteem.

The second factor that has contributed significantly towards my self-esteem is my ability to mentor other people. Many young people consider me as their role model. At my current age of 44 years, I have achieved a lot. I am a devoted parent, blessed with four kids. Moreover, I have a business that I manage. Besides, a run a non-governmental organization. At the same time, I attend classes. Thus, despite having a busy schedule, I live a well-balanced life, a factor that has seen many young people look upon me as their role model. When I reflect back, the act of mentoring young people has made me become popularly known in society. This has had a positive impact on my self-esteem.

Again, I am a financially stable woman. As afore-noted, I am an entrepreneur running a big business. Thus, I am able to pay for my bills without having to struggle a lot. Moreover, I find joy in helping the needy people in the society through the NGO firm. Previous studies have shown that financial stability has a direct correlation with self-esteem. People that languish in poverty have low self-esteem. This is true because when because being unable to afford essential commodities such as food and clothing, he or she might consider it can make one consider himself or herself as a failure. Lack of confidence and a sense of hopelessness often leads to low self-esteem. As such, I have always held a positive attitude and a high sense of self-worth when I reflect on my achievement. Moreover, this makes me believe that I can succeed in new financial endeavors.

I also draw my high sense of self-worth from my character. I am a very strong-willed and creative woman. Notably, if there is one thing that I can count on, that has helped me succeed in this life is my hard work and discipline. I am a very hardworking person, always looking for new opportunities to leverage. These traits have made to develop confidence in whatever I undertake. Branden (2011) notes that confidence is built through hard work, resilience, and excellent habits. On this point, it is important to mention that confidence is one of the markers of people with high-self-esteem. All in all, these core values that I have embraced have been pivotal in shaping my current self-esteem.

Lastly, I am a very sexually active woman. A study conducted by Blascovich and Tomaka (2011) found out that high self-esteem can be rooted in sexual activities among adults. The fact that I have a family with four children means that I am sexually fertile. This is one of the reasons why I have high self-esteem. Findings of past studies show that women who are infertile often face ridicule in society, and as a result, they end up having low self-esteem.

Areas of Personal Vulnerability

Despite being a strong-willed woman and having a high sense of self-worth, many facets of my life drive me to have low self-esteem sometimes. Firstly, I am very poor at handling pressure. I have often found myself being very distressed when I face an issue that pressures me. For instance, there are moments when I have a lot of workloads to accomplish within a limited period. In such cases, I often end up having low self-esteem.

The other aspect of my life that has landed me in a vulnerable situation is my character of being very trustworthy. The fact that I am very friendly and easily make friends with other people, including strangers, is one of my greatest weaknesses. I tend to trust people very much. While in many cases, I have forged long-lasting relationships, there are times when I have ended up being frustrated. For example, there are times when the benefit of trust and closeness has, in the long run, ended up being overshadowed by pain and betrayal, consequently making me have low self-esteem. The fact that I usually find it very challenging to establish barriers in a relationship has been one of my major weaknesses.

Ways of Enhancing My Self-Esteem

One of the strategies that I believe will help me improve my self-esteem is to forgive those that have hurt me in the past. Studies have shown that forgiving others for their heart-breaking actions can improve self-esteem (Ackerman, 2019). This is because it promotes the acceptance of other people despite their flaws (Ackerman, 2019). The second way is to take full responsibility for everything that happens to me (Grohol, 2020). Notably, this will involve acknowledging that I have the capability to influence the circumstances in my life, including choosing who to trust and who not to. The third strategy that I look forward to espousing is to increase my self-understanding. This will include an assessment of who I am and what I want to achieve in this life.

Conclusion

To wrap up, this reflection paper has helped me understand my sense of self-worth. As highlighted, the factors that have shaped my self-esteem are positive self-image, financial stability, the ability to mentor young people, sexual activities, and positive character. However, despite having a high sense of self-worth, I am poor at handling pressure and very accommodating even when it is disadvantaging me. In addition, I am very vulnerable due to my trustworthiness and also poor in establishing barriers in a relationship. However, I believe that I will boost my self-esteem by forgiving those that have hurt me in the past and by being more responsible.

References

Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2016). Introduction to the psychology of self-esteem. Self-esteem: perspectives, influences, and improvement strategies, 1-17.

Ackerman, C. (2019). What is Self-Worth and How Do We Increase it? Positive Pyschology.com. Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/self-worth/Baumeister, R. F. (2009). Self-concept, self-esteem, and identity.

Blascovich, J., & Tomaka, J. (2011). Measures of self-esteem. Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes, 1, 115-160.

Branden, N. (2011). The psychology of self-esteem: A new concept of man's psychological nature (Vol. 1). Los Angeles, CA: Nash Publishing Corporation.

Campbell, J. D. (2015). Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. Journal of personality and social psychology, 59(3), 538.

Grohol, J. (2020). 6 Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/6-tips-to-improve-your-self-esteem/

Hattie, J. (2014). Self-concept. Psychology Press.

Mruk, C. J. (2013). Self-esteem and positive psychology: Research, theory, and practice. Springer Publishing Company.

Zeigler-Hill, V., & Brown, D. J. (2017). Self-esteem. In The Self at Work (pp. 60-91). Routledge.