An introduction to how thinking about ones self effects us.

A Mellow explanation from me to you.

The self is a very complicated piece of equipment It has many different facets that work together in a plethora of niche movements that complete their own respective jobs. These different facets of the self can be interpreted differently, and are depending on what field of study you are focusing on. I will not get into specifics of the theory yet because that is explained better by the visuals and audio. In this dissertation I am going to speak about what it means to be the self and how one can have a problem with their selves as does happen to most people at some point.

First, I want you to think of any action that you want to do right now. Then think about why you can not do it. If the answer to that question is no for any reason outside you wishing to not do it, then you are being controlled by your bodies social version of the self.

People in the current day and age are controlled by media and what people deem to be acceptable. It is done so in an exclusionary practice. The hip is what is in and anything that is not “hip” is out. So, people start to get discouraged and self-conscious about who they should be.

I am sure we have all felt self-conscious about who we were before, but for what reason. There seems to be two that stick out. One, as mentioned before is because of the difference of what social norms are acceptable, and what you would like to express. The second is between what you feel that you should be doing and what you actually end up doing.

 This causes giant issues in the self. This not being who you want to be; it is said to bring you down and gives off effects of depression. This is comparable to you telling yourself you are going to turn a project in on times, but your lack of time management skills causes you to mess up. No one else is to blame except yourself and that breeds sadness. There are certain things that are expected of you in life, and certain things that I’m sure you want to attain. It is very easy to see people on Instagram living a lifestyle that is exactly as you have always dreamed, making you look at yourself like what am I doing with my life. I should have been doing______. This thought is where people get lost because they can not find motivation anymore. They start to feel farther and farther away from who they should be and that it is not worth trying anymore. This perfect version of yourself that you see is never too far. It should be used as motivation, one that never stops, because you can always want to be more.

Back to the first discrepancy of the self, between social norms and expression. Close, but not the same as the other example this is an issue with personal expression and how your social atmosphere influences it. This is allowing your social bubble and thought to be manipulated. In this test of self you may be acting a certain type of way sub consciously. We have different faces, or personas that we wear when we are in different situations. When in social situation we are sometimes convinced to do things that we are not fond of. When we learn that these social behaviors are normal and not what our natural self would do, it breeds social anxiety. An example of this would be a group that you are hanging out with uses a particular slang and makes fun of the way that you talk. One must now change their mannerisms and second guess every word that is said. There is no way to be calm. Even though we must and trust in ourselves.

All together the pressures of media and metacognitive thought can be daunting but it comes down to one idea. You are in control of ever one of these versions of yourself. Kierkegaard would say that unless you are actively figuring yourself out, you are not in pursuit of the true self.