Self Perception

Self Perception – An awareness of the characteristics that constitute one’s self; self-knowledge

It’s one of the biggest things, you can’t love someone until you love yourself, It’s happiness 101. – Jamie Calvin

A friend of mine, Jamie Calvin and I were discussing what I should write about in this week’s blog. Self Perception was his suggestion. Whenever I hang out with Jamie, he is always happy. Always in high spirits, willing to share, do favors, and is just a generally good guy. No wonder he came up with the above mentioned quote. Thanks Jamie!

In most of the classes I have lead, I have talked about perception. We would discuss:

• Self-Perception (Johari’s Window – google it)
• Misunderstood Perception (or assumptions)
• Other’s Perceptions, (empathy, hunching)

Let’s think about the dictionary definition of Self Perception –  An Awareness of the characteristics that constitute one’s self; self-knowledge. An Awareness of . How aware are you of your self? Every component of yourself. Can you list 5 positive characteristics and 5 negative characteristics about yourself.
How long did it take? We all have more than 5 negatives and 5 positives about ourselves. So if we did just 5 more of each and answered the question, What are the reasons we have listed these characteristics about ourselves and what impact does it have on our self perception, I wonder how much our self perception of ourselves would change.

I would like to communicate this in closing. When someone says something negatively about us, it is their perception. They are the owners of it. When people say negative things, it belongs to them. It’s theirs to give. It only becomes ours once we decide to accept it. If someone said, “your stupid!” it is their opinion and belongs to them. I don’t want it. Why would I? I just say to myself and even out loud sometimes – No Thanks. It’s a pretty empowering tool I use. (This brilliant collage classmate, Geo, shared that with the class. It’s one of the most powerful and profound tools I incorporate into my life.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. 🙂