Self-concept is an understanding we have of ourself that’s based on our personal experiences, body image, our thoughts, beliefs about our personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, roles, as well as the knowledge that we exist as individuals and how we tend to label yourself in various situations.
Rosenberg defines the self-concept broadly as “the totality of an individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference to himself as an object”. A more specific definition is provided by Turner: “Typically my self-conception is a vague but vitally felt idea of what I am like in my best moments, of what I am striving toward and have some encouragement to believe I can achieve, or of what I can do when the situation supplies incentives for unqualified effort.
In childhood the Self-Concept tends to be tied to concrete or physical things like looks, items and skill levels. As the child grows, they learn about things like intrinsic (inner) characteristics and psychological differences due to the fact that they now have a larger network of peers and mentors to compare themselves with. Later in life (teenager-adulthood) the self-concept changes into a more nebulous idea that is organized by what is relevant to the individual.
Self-Concept is an everchanging concept depending on the person because our feelings, personal belief systems and attitude can change when new information is shown to us.
Adolescence is a period of life in which the sense of ‘self’ changes profoundly.
A healthy self-concept always helps us get ahead in life. It allows us to maximize our potential and get the most from our strengths, talents, and abilities. On the other hand, a weak self-concept will hinder our progress. In fact, a fragile self-concept will most likely lead to self-sabotaging behavior. As a result, we struggle to follow through with our actions.
Disha Program aims at helping them understand themselves and their potentials. Its to help them reach their maximum best output and keep growing and improving their self-concept as they encounter new situations and challenges in their day to day lives. Its for them to realize their potential and see how much they have been using it in their daily lives. It also helps them come to an understanding about how they can improve on few strengths and weaknesses they are experiencing.
We aim to ensure that everyone understands that building a healthy and robust self-concept no doubt takes some work and consistent effort. In fact, it takes time. This isn’t something that you can build or transform overnight. Likewise, it isn’t something that you work through once and then forget about for the rest of your life.
Transforming your self-concept is something that you need to work on consistently over time. It’s something that must continuously change and evolve as you reach new milestones along your life’s journey.
However, this journey certainly doesn’t need to be difficult. There is no need to complete this process in one go but gradually attain it.
Shruti Patwari
Development Coach
References:
https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/the-cognitive-self-the-self-concept/