Starting Points and Self Perception

There will be several points in your life where you will ask, “Who am I?” Each point may be at a pivotal moment in your life ranging from your sexuality, your career plans, or even a change in your lifestyle; all of these moments come with difficult decisions that you will have to make in order to improve your life.

“Who am I?” to “How do I see myself?”

Throughout this process, you will be examining your self-concept. Your self-concept in the simplest of definitions is essentially how you perceive yourself as a person. Now the question changes from, “Who am I?” to “How do I see myself?”

When I go to parties or other social gatherings, am I the loud, and seemingly, outgoing person, or am I the person who sits in the corner and tries to avoid any social interaction at all? When I’m in a heated argument, do I assert myself or do I concede under pressure or out of fear of rejection following afterward?

A major concept that should be considered here is the other concept which is how others perceive you. I argue that the “Sticks and Stones” saying is false, but is used as a defense mechanism to protect oneself from the verbal abuse of others. Words do hurt and they can cause great damage in one’s own self-concept.

"You can only ever control your side of the court"

When this happens, you have to decide who you are and who you want to be. Not everyone will ever know who you truly are—you might not let anyone get to know you at all. Don't let that happen! Don't let someone's judgment of you define your life, define your own path and be proud that you did! In this world, regardless of your politics, which is extremely important right now, you have to fight for what you want. You should never let someone tell you that you're ugly or not good enough. Take that painful criticism and show them that you're worth even more!

Don't let the stress get to you. Control the stress. Turn that stress into focus and choose a more positive mindset. When I was younger, my volleyball coach once told my team, "you can only ever control your side of the court," and to this day, I decide who I want to be and I choose to overcome all of the stress. Now it's your turn!

I will be posting content about bettering yourself and how to beat the stress of your lives, I hope you can join me! I want to hear your stories and give advice if I can, so send me questions or comments and I will come back with an answer!

Keep the stories flowing.