What is the Self?

Me, Myself and I

DEFINITION of Me, Myself and I:

Reference to one being alone or succeed by oneself. Self-absorbed. Using all references to oneself underlines that no one else is involved, just you.

“Yes, I’m home alone, just me, myself and I.”

How often have you heard someone complain that they do not feel like themself today? Or, He has low self-esteem. Or I have low self-esteem. Another variation of the self is that she thinks a lot of herself.

There is also self-concept. People think of themselves as extroverted or introverted, conscientious or irresponsible. Self-concepts include other dimensions, such as gender, ethnicity, and nationality. There is also a social dimension to the self. The social dimension of the self rests on a person’s interactions with others and how those people view the other person’s self.

It is important to know that the self is a mental model, an idea, a concept, or a way of thinking. One definition of the self is that it refers what how you judge yourself, how you think others judge you, how you imagine and think about your body, and what you believe others think of you. As a matter of speaking, the self refers to what it’s like to be you.

The self is a term we constantly use. We refer to self-esteem, self-concept, self-image, and others. Yet, what is meant by this? In actuality, the self refers to these things. It refers what how you judge yourself, how you think others judge you, how you imagine and think about your body, and what you believe others think of you. As a matter of speaking, the self refers to “what it’s like to be you.” The self is a mental model of yourself, an idea, a concept, or a way of thinking.

What it is like to be you is something that is not static. It shifts from the experiences you have encountered. It is fluid, and it changes. However, there needs to be more solid about the self. It cannot be in your body. It’s not in your brain the way the hippocampus is. There is no way to point at it. In reality, it’s a construct, an idea, a mental model you have of yourself, an idea, a concept, or a way of thinking. This construct, the self, also rests upon the various roles we play in life. Roles such as daughter, son, father, mother, grandparent, and worker all form pieces of a puzzle that, together, form the self.

Because no one else on earth experiences things the way each of us does, each self is unique. That is why the self can be referred to as the individual. You, the reader, are an individual, unique, and as varied from the other readers as possible. Two people can’t have the same experience because it feels different to each of us.

As stated above, the self changes. It changes all the time. It is positive because that fact gives us the power to change. For example, meditation and mindfulness allow each person to realize the self and appreciate the complexity of yourself.

What is your self-concept? What do you think of yourself?

Your comments are welcome.