Self-knowledge in psychology occupies a special position. This is a topic that worries many people seeking self-improvement. It is within the power of every person to make their life more meaningful and remarkable. You just need to make your own efforts to develop. The path of self-knowledge in itself cannot be considered easy. Many trials await a person on this road. Only by overcoming these obstacles does a person develop, fully moving forward. The mechanisms of self-knowledge are associated with its internal organization. Psychological life perfectly reflects a person’s personal experiences. Self-knowledge is a way to come to an understanding of your own true motives. You don't always have to worry about where to start. The development of consciousness includes elements and forms of reflection.
Self-knowledge and self-development are integral elements of human self-improvement. The more time you spend working on yourself, the more multifaceted your personality develops, and the deeper layers are revealed in it. Let's take a closer look at the features of self-knowledge. The psychology of self-knowledge is quite interesting.
The importance of self-knowledge in human life[ | ]
Many religions, philosophical and psychological-pedagogical schools and approaches are largely built on the value, importance and significance of self-knowledge and self-development. Thus, from the point of view of the religions of the Ancient East, it is with the help of self-knowledge and self-development that it is possible and realistic to comprehend the true essence of man, to achieve the unity of man with the Absolute Mind, the Universe; “in Christianity, self-knowledge is the discovery of the Divine principle within oneself, and self-development is the path to comprehending God through faith and participation in the sacraments of the church.”[2] In psychology and pedagogy of the humanistic direction, it is argued that only with the help of self-actualization can a person realize himself, find the meaning of his existence, become what he is capable of becoming, “and not what others force him to be.”[2] In accordance with the concept of the representative of humanistic psychology K. Rogers, self-knowledge gives a person the ability for personal growth, self-improvement, self-actualization, which is a necessary condition for achieving the fullness of life, feeling the joy of life, and realizing the meaning of life[3].
Meditation as a path to the ideal
Meditation is a psychological exercise aimed at finding harmony and peace of mind. This method is widespread, since with minimal expenditure of physical strength, we achieve mental balance. The psychology of self-knowledge without meditation would be of little effectiveness, because let’s speak frankly, which of us can simply throw out of our heads and hearts all the negativity that has accumulated there? No more than 10-15 percent of the population of our planet.
Now we present to your attention the most effective meditations that do not require much time and effort. Give yourself 20 minutes a day - and you will see how life has begun to improve, your boss does not make you angry, and your desire to learn has increased to about.
Types of Meditative State
- Color meditation is one of the simplest meditation techniques that even a beginner can do. You need to take a comfortable position (don't forget - your back is straight!), and then close your eyes. Imagine your favorite color in front of your mind's eye, while holding this picture motionless in front of your eyes. Opening your eyes, listen to your own sensations - if they appear in your body (for example, the desire to move or act), then the meditation was successful. For greater relaxation, you can turn on calm music;
- Waterfall - water has always been identified by many with calmness and serenity. This method will help you relax and let go of all the negativity accumulated during the day. Take the most comfortable position for you, and if possible, it’s better to even lie down. Closing your eyes, count to 50, while mentally imagining the river along which you are moving. After 10 minutes of such visualization, imagine a waterfall (you determine its size and appearance yourself) and jump down from it. Thus, you are cleansed of all negative feelings and undergo a slight rebirth. When you open your eyes, you will feel relaxed and well rested;
- A candle flame - all the equipment necessary in this case - candles, twilight in the room and high concentration. I want to warn you right away that this method of purifying consciousness and setting the mood for self-knowledge will seem very difficult at first, but after a while you will feel how with each repetition it becomes easier and easier for you, and after 3 months of such meditation, it will completely stop taking away from you strength.
Life hack for effective meditation
Your algorithm of actions: first plunge the room into twilight (this is necessary so that the light of the candle clearly breaks through your closed eyes), then light the candles. Having taken a position that is comfortable for you, focus your gaze on the candles for about a minute, and after this time, close your eyes. Small lights should now remain before your eyes - an echo of the light of a candle flame. Your main task is to fully concentrate on them, without being distracted by absolutely anything, but at the same time these lights should not go out before your eyes.
Meditation of this kind with fire allows us to develop our own ability to concentrate, abstracting from the world around us. By repeating this method over a long period of time, you will notice how your efficiency at work, school, or other activities has improved. This is explained by the fact that already on a subconscious level, a person, seeing and feeling some difficulties, begins to concentrate his attention and internal resources, which are aimed at analyzing and finding a solution.
Self-concept[ | ]
Main article: Self-concept
Self-concept (or self-image) is a relatively stable, more or less conscious and recorded in verbal form, a person’s idea of himself. This concept is the result of “knowing and evaluating oneself through individual images of oneself in a wide variety of real and fantastic situations, as well as through the opinions of other people and relating oneself to others”[5].
The self-concept is characterized, among other things, by adequacy or inadequacy: a person can create an image of himself (and believe in it) that does not correspond to reality and leads to conflicts with it; on the contrary, an adequate self-concept contributes to more successful adaptation to the world and other people[6].
Common Mistakes
In developing self-awareness, a person makes the following mistakes:
- Labeling. They oversimplify reality and interfere with adequate thinking.
- Deafness to feedback. Often other people are better able to see positive and negative qualities. You need to be able to analyze yourself, but take what other people have said as initial information.
Thus, self-awareness is the most important characteristic of a person, distinguishing him from animals. Self-knowledge is a process that allows you to understand what a person is like. It mediates development and helps to correctly analyze psychological experience for further search for ways of self-development.
Ways and means of self-knowledge[ | ]
Self-knowledge as a process can be presented as a sequence of the following actions: discovery of any personal trait or behavioral characteristic in oneself, its fixation in consciousness, analysis, evaluation and acceptance. It is advisable to take into account that with a high level of emotionality and non-acceptance of oneself, self-knowledge can turn into “self-digging”, which generates not objective knowledge about oneself, but various kinds of complexes, therefore, in self-knowledge, as in other matters, moderation is important [7].
According to psychologist Yu. M. Orlov, effective self-observation in terms of self-knowledge and self-development is impossible without knowledge of the basics of the psychology of feelings and personality psychology. “ ...In order to think about how my resentment, my vanity, my shame and my fear are structured, you must first of all know how these psychological realities are “structured” in general. Therefore, training in introspection (self-observation) involves knowledge of the psychological mechanisms of the objects of reflection. Anyone who knows how his resentment works can make it an object of introspection... Anyone who does not know this will fail, since he will reproduce in his imagination only images that again cause the experience of resentment...
»[8]
The most common methods of self-knowledge include:
- Introspection. It is carried out by observing oneself, one’s behavior, and the events of the inner world.
- Introspection. What is discovered through introspection is subjected to analysis, during which any personality trait or behavioral characteristic is divided into its constituent parts, cause-and-effect relationships are established, and the person reflects on himself, on this particular quality. For example, having discovered signs of shyness in yourself, you can try to answer the questions: does this always manifest itself? Am I shy when communicating with close people? Am I being shy when answering the lesson? What about communicating with strangers? Is it with everyone? What causes this? For example, the cause of shyness in an adult may be a hidden resentment experienced in childhood as a result of ridicule.
- Comparing yourself with some “standard”. People tend to compare themselves with other people, or with ideals, or with accepted standards. Such a comparison is carried out through a kind of scale, the poles of which are opposites, for example: smart - stupid, kind - evil, fair - unfair, attentive - inattentive, hardworking - lazy.
- Modeling your own personality. It is carried out by displaying individual properties and characteristics of one’s personality, one’s relationships with others using signs and symbols. For example, you can, by marking yourself and other significant people with circles, try to write down and comprehend the connections between yourself and others: likes, dislikes, dominance, submission, conflicts, etc.
- Awareness of opposites in one quality or another behavioral characteristic. This method is used at later stages of the process of self-knowledge, when some personal characteristic has already been identified and analyzed. The point here is that a person’s personality and its individual qualities simultaneously have positive and negative sides. Finding the positive side of a quality that is initially perceived as negative reduces the pain of accepting it. Self-acceptance is an important moment of self-knowledge; it is also the starting point for self-development and self-improvement.
The broadest and most accessible way of self-knowledge is considered to be knowledge of other people. By giving them characteristics, understanding the motives of their behavior, we compare ourselves with others, and this makes it possible to understand our difference from others and what exactly it is [9].
The means of self-knowledge include:
- Self-report, including in the form of a diary.
- Watching films, plays, reading fiction. Paying attention to the psychological portraits of heroes, their actions, relationships with other people, a person voluntarily or involuntarily compares himself with these heroes, and writers (especially classics) are considered unsurpassed psychologists [ by whom?
]. - The study of psychology, in particular its branches such as personality psychology and social psychology.
- Use of psychological testing; in this case, it is better to use serious, proven tests, carefully reading the instructions and methods of interpretation. If possible, it is better to carry out the interpretation together with a specialist psychologist.[9]
Special means of self-knowledge include various modern forms of work of a psychologist:
- individual counseling, in which the psychologist works with the patient in such a way that he opens up as much as possible, understands his problems, and finds internal resources to resolve them;
- work in a socio-psychological training group. Here contact is built in such a way that the group contributes to the intensification of the processes of learning about others and oneself.[9]
Three elephants on which our “I” rests
Self-analysis first of all begins with the fact that a person studies his internal characteristics: mental and physical.
In the future, this basis will become an excellent foundation for self-awareness. The psychology of self-knowledge and self-development starts from infancy. When we first begin to recognize ourselves as part of the world. At first so tiny, but already inseparable from our own “I”. The most common methods of self-knowledge are officially recognized:
- Self-analysis is based on a detailed analysis of one’s own actions: their motives that arise in the process of various emotions, and subsequently the establishment of a causal-personal connection. This method will be effective only if a person is ready to be honest with himself, accepting reality, including the sobriety of facts. Do not look for excuses for your reluctance to act, but accept this choice as it is;
- Self-observation - the psychology of human self-knowledge is based mainly on this method. It is much easier to perceive and implement than the first. This is explained by the fact that the method of self-analysis is more likely for those who have already passed the primary stages. For those who have mastered the most basic methods of self-knowledge in psychology;
- Comparison - comparing common traits, both positive and negative - is undoubtedly the most favorite method of motivating oneself. And this is not easy, because when comparing ourselves with someone, we admit that we have something to learn from this person, and perhaps it is also worth giving up some habits;
It is these methods of studying the inner world that help us create the necessary model of behavior. We will strive for this model throughout our lives, developing those personal characteristics that, in our opinion, can help in achieving the desired goal.
Self-knowledge and self-esteem[ | ]
Self-knowledge is related to the self-esteem of an individual. In psychology, there are three motives for a person’s appeal to self-esteem:
- Understanding yourself (searching for accurate knowledge about yourself).
- Increasing one's own importance (searching for favorable knowledge about oneself).
- Self-test (correlating one’s own knowledge about oneself with others’ assessments of one’s importance).
The level of self-esteem is associated with a person’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with himself and his activities. At the same time, adequate self-esteem corresponds to a person’s real capabilities; overestimated or underestimated - they are distorted.
Self-esteem can be distinguished by the following formula:
self-esteem = success/pretension
That is, you can increase self-esteem either by achieving something (increasing success) or by lowering the requirements for the ideal (aspiration). At the same time, however, it is believed that a person cannot completely renounce claims [10].
conclusions
The psychology of self-knowledge is an unusually subtle matter. It does not have a clear, coordinated algorithm of actions. Techniques that brought unprecedented success to one person are not guaranteed to guarantee such success for you.
Before you start choosing a tool to achieve results, you need to ask yourself: “Do I want this?”, “Am I striving for this goal?”
If you don’t know the answer to these questions or clearly realize that you don’t need this at all, go deeper into yourself. Apply these wonderful methods on yourself and then the psychology of self-knowledge will open up new facets in you. To get something, you need not only to consciously desire it, but also to completely devote yourself to the goal. You should strive to get to know yourself, to realize the inner “I” without the unnecessary tinsel that often surrounds it.
Notes[ | ]
- Lebedev A.V.
Seven wise men // New philosophical encyclopedia / Institute of Philosophy RAS; National social-scientific fund; Pred. scientific-ed. Council V. S. Stepin, deputy chairmen: A. A. Guseinov, G. Yu. Semigin, student. secret A. P. Ogurtsov. — 2nd ed., rev. and additional - M.: Mysl, 2010. - ISBN 978-5-244-01115-9. - ↑ 12
Maralov, 2004, p. 3. - Maralov, 2004, § 1. The concept of self-knowledge / Chapter 1. General characteristics of self-knowledge / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development.
- ↑ 12
Maralov, 2004, § 3. Spheres and areas of self-knowledge / Chapter 1. General characteristics of self-knowledge / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development. - See: Man and Society / Ed. L. N. Bogolyubova, A. Yu. Lazebnikova.
- Maralov, 2004, § 2. The structure of self-awareness / Chapter 2. Self-knowledge as a structural component of human self-awareness / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development.
- Maralov, 2004, § 1. General characteristics of self-knowledge as a process / Chapter 3. Self-knowledge as a process goals, motives, methods, results / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development.
- See: Orlov Yu. M.
Self-knowledge and self-education of character.
- M.: Education, 1987. - 224 p. — Chapter Development of abilities and mental processes
. - ↑ 123
Maralov, 2004, § 3. Methods and means of self-knowledge / Chapter 3. Self-knowledge as a process goals, motives, methods, results / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development. - Maralov, 2004, § 4. Results of self-knowledge / Chapter 3. Self-knowledge as a process goals, motives, methods, results / Section 1. Psychology of self-knowledge / Part I. Theoretical foundations of self-knowledge and self-development.
Links[ | ]
- Directory of areas of self-knowledge and self-development
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