Free The Role Of The “First Step” In The Improvement Of Self-Concept Research Paper Sample

Self-concept is one of the main parts of every human’s psychology since it affects not only individual’s self-perception, but also how people around see him. It is one of those parts that necessarily should be balanced – both high and low self-esteem do not let a person judge himself objectively. That is why it is highly important for everyone to build and develop self-concept properly. In my case, self-concept is directly depends on the results of my life activity, goals that I set to myself, and achievements that I get after completing these aims. It should be noted that I consider my self-esteem as a complex and general concept; in other words, I try to estimate myself not by particular criteria such as appearance, intellectual development, or, for instance, communication skills, but by what I represent generally.
In order to improve my self-concept I developed several guidelines. First of all, I started with a sober assessment of myself by asking me and close people questions. What are my strengths and weaknesses? What am I good and bad at? What should I improve or change in myself? From what should I get rid of? Thereby, I found out what things I do like and do not like in myself as well as what other people like and do not like in me. Secondly, I began to analyze the reasons of why I am weak or bad at some things, and why I should get rid of some traits. For instance, long time ago, I had complexes because of inability to communicate with peers as they did among themselves. I realized that this happened because they often discuss such themes, in which I was not interested, for example, pop music. That is why I started listening to popular singers since the next step in the guidelines for improvement of my self-concept was setting a strong motivation. In this case, my motivation lied in building warm relationships with my friends. And the last point in my guidelines was “Reward myself for achievements and progress” since when I give myself little presents it means that I am pleased with myself, and that, in turn, improves my self-esteem.
The last time when it was hard for me to improve my self-concept was one year ago. I asked myself the question why I was not satisfied with myself, and realized that the problem lied in my appearance. At that time, I gained weight, and felt discomfort with my body, which was suffering from several extra pounds. Then, according to my guidelines, I started to consider what I should change in myself in order to feel comfortable and be satisfied with myself. The answer was obvious – I had to go on a diet, have proper nutrition, and go in for sports. The next step would be setting a motivation. And it was this point where I failed – my depression was bigger and stronger than motivation, so that I could not make myself do anything to lose weight because I was too depressed.
When I think about this last year’s experience, I understand that if I had such problem today, I would choose greater motivation. Moreover, now I realize that it is enough to make the first step towards self-improvement to gain positive results. Thus, I need to gather all the willpower for this first step, and it will be enough in order not to feel so depressed. For instance, I find out that running is a perfect way to relieve stress, thereby, all I need to do is set a good motivation and have a sufficient willpower in order to take the first step and go for a running. And the results will not slow to arrive: the stress will be relieved; the weight will be lost; my personal achievement will be get; my self-concept will be improved.
The most significant thing that I have learned from completing this assignment is the awareness that everybody, including me, moves on over the years. People gain experience, estimate their successes and failures, make conclusions, and always have to be ready apply their knowledge in order to improve themselves. All these things are important while improving humans’ self-concept: having failed at once, nobody should stop trying to make himself better. And as soon as you make your first step towards self-improvement, your self-esteem will be increased as well.