Self_Concept

Describe a time when you tried to bring about a change in your self-concept and were not successful in doing so. When I was a teenager I would always worry about what others used to think about me and I used to believe everything they said about me was true. I eventually learned to ignore the things that were being said about me, but after hearing those things for several years you start to believe those things are true. Later in my teen years I tried changing the way I thought about myself. I tried convincing myself that all the names and things I was being called was just my peers picking on me and bullying me. I knew deep down that none of it was true but I couldn’t make myself believe that I wasn’t stupid or I wasn’t ugly and I gave up trying to change the way I thought about myself and moved on. Summarize the guidelines for improving self-concept in our textbook and explain how each might apply to a change in self-concept. There are four guidelines for improving one’s self concept. 1. The first concept is the most difficult and the most important. We must make a firm commitment to our personal growth. It isn’t as easy as it may sound. It is more than just saying we want to change and be more open with others. We have to put forth the time and effort. It is a continuous effort and will not happen overnight. We must also realize that there are going to be ups and downs in the process of trying to change, but we can’t let the bumps in the road get us down. It is also difficult to change one’s self concept because we resist change and if we realize that from the start, we will be better prepared to handle the changes we are trying to make. 2. Gain and use knowledge to support personal growth. We must learn how our self concept became what it is and understand why it is the way it is. We should think about other’s views on race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic classes to decide whether we want to accept these views as part of our own perspective or view them differently than others view them. We should learn information about ourselves through self disclosure, as we reveal our hopes and dreams we get responses from others that can give us a new perspective on who we are and we gain some insight into ourselves by interacting with others in different situations. 3. Set goals that are realistic and fair. Efforts to change ourselves work better when we set realistic goals. We always try to strive for perfection therefore expecting more from ourselves than we can realistically obtain. It is better to set a series of small goals and conquer those first, then after accomplishing those set goals, we can set more. I say start with baby steps and work our way up. 4. Seek contexts that support personal change. Think about the people who will help move toward the changes that we want to accomplish for ourselves. We need to be surrounded by people who will support us with what we are trying to accomplish. We also need to avoid self-sabotage. Others are not the only ones who can affect our views of ourselves. We communicate with ourselves as well with self-talk. That involves telling ourselves that we can’t do something, and that will certainly have negative effects on our self-concept. We can encourage our strengths and our growth with positive self-talk. If you applied these guidelines, how might you be more effective if you attempted to create the same change in your self-concept today' Fortunately for myself I have already learned how to ignore what other people say about me. I have learned that I only have to impress my husband and myself and no one else. I have learned that it doesn’t matter what other people think of me as long as I know who I am and what I am. I have learned that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beauty isn’t everything. I know I am needed and loved. I also know that I am an excellent wife, a good mother and a smart, dependable, and determined person and that matters is what I think and feel about myself. What is the most significant thing you have learned from this assignment' It is really hard to say what the most significant thing I learned from this assignment. I already learned most if not all of what this assignment was about in my years of growing up and dealing with being picked on and bullied. All I can say is that this assignment basically reinforced everything that I have already learned on my own. When I say that I learned to not care what other people think about me, I don’t mean that I don’t care if they don’t like the way I act or behave. I mean I don’t care if someone thinks that I am ugly or they think I am stupid because I know differently. I would never say that I don’t care if people think that I don’t have manners or I am disrespectful because I would never act like that. I am very respectful of others and have good manners, but I don’t let it get to me when people say things about the way I look or the vehicle I drive, because as I said before none of those petty things will make me think less of myself anymore. If you applied these guidelines, how might you be more effective if you attempted to create the same change in your self-concept today' What is the most significant thing you have learned from this assignment' UNIT 3 PROJECT: 100Self-Concept | Total Possible | Points earned | Provided a description of an unsuccessful attempt to change self-concept. (#1) | 20 |  20 | Summarized the guidelines for changing self-concept. (#2 ) | 20 |  20 | Discussed how applying each of the guidelines could result in a more positive outcome. (#3) I would have liked the guidelines applies directly to your example. | 30 |  26 | Discussed the most significant thing learned from this assignment. (#4) | 10 | 8 | Free of spelling, mechanical, and/or grammatical errors (be sure use the grammar and spell check tool). | 20 |  20 | Total points: 94/100 Helen, if you used the guidelines, you would raise your self esteem and not have to ignore what others say about you. It is important to be aware of how people perceive us so that we can make modifications if necessary. For instance, if someone tells us we always look sad, we could examine our body language and our feelings. I am pleased that you have come to know yourself and have found companionship and love in your life. Strong work on this project! Sally