Self-knowledge and personality development, concepts, stages

Whoever has once found himself cannot lose anything in this world. And whoever once understood the person in himself understands all people
S. Zweig

Self-knowledge begins from the moment you become aware of yourself. This process is embodied very early, even in childhood, and reaches its peak in the years of adolescence, when the thirst for knowledge is great, the mind is insatiable, demands new discoveries and impressions, and the soul strives for high goals and it seems that it is possible to embrace the immensity.

All this is exactly so, but with the burden of responsibility that social status imposes, new responsibilities, and simply the daily whirlpool of events carries away with its speed, a person forgets about the purity of impulses that once filled his life with meaning. And now, realizing the vanity of existence, he looks back, sees himself in the past and realizes that something is missing in his present life. Is this why she began to seem ordinary to him, so predictable?

Yes, there is stability in it: he has achieved recognition of his merits, he is valued by colleagues and respected by friends, there is stability in the family and support in life. However, this vague feeling inside does not cease to excite us and the fact that all this surroundings, the external component of being, does not exhaust the diversity that life can offer us.

No matter how unique and beautiful the experience of living in society may be, constantly encouraging us to serve our egregor, nevertheless, the material component of life could not exist if there were no inner life, the one that happens inside, is manifested by the work of consciousness and mind. It is the most important thing in a person, what is hidden from view, but from where we draw strength to implement projects; she is a source of inspiration and creativity; the place where consciousness and soul live; a reflection of all that is purest in every person.

In moments of misunderstanding by others, it is this source that you will turn to in order to regain self-confidence. This is the inner pulse that connects us with the Absolute. It contains the entrance to the countless kingdom of knowledge and virtues. You need to be able to use it, find the key to it. The inner world of a person is huge. What we habitually call the inner world are just approaches to it. To recognize the entire Universe hidden behind the inscription “inner world,” we resort to a technique called self-knowledge.

What is Self-Knowledge

The process of an individual understanding himself is called self-knowledge. A person comprehends his personality, abilities, both physical and mental, his own “I”. All this begins in infancy and finds realization throughout life’s activities. The results of self-knowledge are ensuring the integrity of the individual, as well as its development.

It is advisable to trace how it is formed in order to understand the aspects of this concept. Namely: the process goes through stages as the external environment is reflected when a person realizes his uniqueness. The three levels correspond to the same number of areas within which the personality is organized (stages of self-knowledge).

1. Biological: knowledge of oneself as a separate organism.

2. Social, reflecting the ability to study and acquire the ability to comply with behavioral norms.

3. Personal, associated with the ability to make choices, organize being and behavior. It is also the ability to make decisions.

Self-knowledge and personality development are categories responsible for the successful implementation of a person based on the results of his activities. The individual evaluates himself, acquires the opportunity to be objective, and forms a relationship with his “I” as an object of knowledge. Development is carried out if you have the ability to improve your potency on your own. It is accompanied by the desire to achieve the highest achievements and levels.

Self-knowledge and self-development of an individual are described by the characteristics that make up the scientific concept in psychology. Specifically this:

mental health;
personal potential capable of optimal implementation;
mental maturity and inner harmony.

These aspects act as a whole with the relationship between them. The result can be considered the efficiency with which the process of self-knowledge is realized. It begins in childhood and continues throughout life. And the heyday occurs in young years, characterized by an insatiable mind and thirst for impressions.

The importance of self-knowledge in human life

In youth, a person sets high goals for himself, realizing that self-awareness is the path to enlightenment. By acquiring social status, duties and responsibilities, a person may lose the nobility of impulses that previously gave meaning to life. And existence itself becomes commonplace. At such a moment, it is important to be able to find positive aspects where previously only negativity was observed. This gives additional strength to accept these properties and plays a very important role in improving oneself. A person who is aware of himself as a person is familiar with his own characteristics, differences from others, and can make comparisons. All this will improve the understanding that self-knowledge is the path to enlightenment.

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.

Types of self-knowledge

The process of self-knowledge occurs sequentially, through the following stages:

searching and finding any personality quality;
fixing it in consciousness;
analysis, evaluation and acceptance.

There are the following types of self-knowledge, corresponding to the methods of its implementation.

Observation of yourself, thoughts, behavior.
Analysis in relation to objects and characteristics discovered during self-observation. Connections between causes and effects are established.
Comparing yourself with others, comparison with standards.
Modeling one's own personality by mapping characteristics and relationships.
Detection of opposite qualities and awareness of them.

The path of self-knowledge comes to the last stage in the stage of analyzed characteristics. After all, qualities can include both good and bad sides. It is also customary to divide the process into three main types:

analytical, relating to the function of the mind and mentality;
creative, in which feelings are expressed;
spiritual, expressing the concept that self-knowledge is the path to enlightenment.

The use of one or another variety depends on the position, views and worldview. The stages of self-knowledge in the form of the above methods help to understand your inner world. And also get to know people.

Conquering the peak

Self-knowledge is reminiscent of conquering the highest mystical peak. The initial stages are easy to overcome. Here you will find thousands of tips. You meet one guide after another. They know the way forward, offer their maps, help you climb higher. The advertising of their services ripples. There are even more fellow travelers. And it calms me down. You can rely on your older comrades.

But the farther you go, the fewer fellow travelers. And finding a good guide is now a great success. But you still rely on other people's strong shoulders and experience.

The expedition continues, and one day you discover that you are now alone. There's not a soul ahead. There is no one else to rely on. Travel companions are so rare that every time you are surprised: “wow, I can share this stage with someone!” At this cold height, through the fog of clouds, you exchange knowing glances, wink and go your separate ways.

Now the peak itself teaches you. One on one. And it's no longer scary. You move on pure faith. You don't know what will happen in a second. You meet the unknown face to face. And you continue on your way.

Nobody knows what's next. But you walked alone so often that you’ve already gotten used to trusting yourself: “if I could walk alone before, I can do it now.”

In the past, you had read about the structure of the mountain, and had a vague idea of what it was like in practice. Now you yourself write detailed instructions with nuances, based on what you saw with your own eyes.

You begin to distinguish between experienced authors who have known the path—there are few of them—and theoretic authors who copy others.

We all successfully use other people's experience. So as not to reinvent the wheel. Probably all my articles on progressman.ru are half of someone else’s thoughts, words and expressions. And somewhere, I confess, I got ahead of myself and dared to judge something that I didn’t really know, that I had barely touched.

I will probably continue to do this. There's a smiley here.

In recent years, my experience with books on self-knowledge has been this way: I’ll read about 10 pages, make sure that the author doesn’t respect the reader’s time, spreads a simple thought over an entire chapter, or describes things that have long been obvious—and close it.

I draw more and more knowledge from my personal life and work. An attempt to hear and understand the client can enrich a whole book. And you always know only yourself.

Sometimes I read science fiction for the sake of atmosphere.

Methods and techniques of self-knowledge

The process of self-knowledge is carried out using the following means.

Self-report. For example, keeping a diary recording changes.
Familiarization with films and literature that contain images with which you can compare yourself, developing your own spirituality.
Studying the basics of psychology, both personal and social, becoming familiar with screening tests. A scientific approach will lead to literacy and a correct assessment of personal growth.
Psychological consultation with specialists will help identify errors and solve problems.
Activities related to training in psychology provide incentive and help organize self-knowledge of the individual.

What does this give? The realization of the goal comes - achieving a state of happiness in everyday life. And also an understanding of your purpose. The process of self-knowledge, realized by special means, is the form in which the psychologist carries out his activities. 1. Private consultation. In this case, an individual plan is drawn up for the client. And the latter gets the opportunity to open up to the maximum, understand the problems, and find resources to implement possible solutions. 2. Work with groups according to the type of psychological training. Relationships are built between members, in which the process of self-knowledge and studying the psychology of others becomes intense.

A person's exploration of himself begins from the moment he discovers differences with other people. Examples of individual characteristics are character, behavioral factors, chosen life goals. At what period do you need to choose a path of self-knowledge separate from others in order to move along it? It is necessary to go through the stages of introspection, comparison and personality modeling. After which you should combine the antipodes with negative and positive aspects and get to know other people, having the ability to compare and evaluate.

The stages will help you discover new things in yourself and strengthen your self-esteem. Having chosen methods of self-knowledge, we have the opportunity to use the means by which:

the improvement of spirituality and inner “I” continues;
self-test is implemented;
the importance of such activities is realized.

The path of self-discovery involves the use of various techniques, applied in the form of stages or theories. Let's list some of them.

Personal growth

This concept is considered a stage or a necessary process. Many comprehend the inner world, acquire spirituality through religion, unity with the Divine. This method involves humility, studying the rules of life according to the sacred scriptures: the Bible, the Koran, and other sources. Self-knowledge and self-development of the individual becomes a paramount task. Spiritual books lay out in very simple language the ways of finding your destiny. Written thousands of years ago, they are still very relevant today.

Judgments of self-knowledge here reflect:

desire to be healthy;
capability development;
unification of nature and spirit.

These aspects are combined into a single whole during the narrative. From birth, children fill their psyche with everything they see, learn and acquire the ability to distinguish themselves from others. Worldview is formed from the age of three, after which the stages of self-knowledge are realized in the form of the emergence of character with principles. And then a culture of behavior is developed. Feelings, analytical thinking, awareness of the environment and events appear. This list of steps is called personal growth.

Self-concept

A system of methods called esoteric involves the formation of a triple “I”. The peculiarities of self-knowledge in this case lie in the reflection of these unique images that make up the personality, interpreting the concepts of thoughts, dreams, aspirations for the ideal. Self-concept (or “I” - concept) preaches nepotism, culture in behavior and universal values in self-knowledge.

When expressing the soul (“I”) in the material world, the goal is to create an ideal person. Self-knowledge is aimed at achieving this. Disadvantages are neutralized in favor of the comprehensive development of the worldview. Although the fight against them continues. Motivation appears. Some specific personality is used as a standard. Such methods of self-knowledge involve erasing the line between oneself and a given ideal. Universal human values in this case presuppose finding one’s purpose while realizing one’s uniqueness. Evaluations and control in relation to oneself exclude a position below others. Social weight and self-esteem will increase as you approach the ideal.

Time stages

The peculiarities of self-knowledge in the method of applying time stages are to reflect the essence of the individual in relation to different periods. A person is determined in life and feels like a part of the planet. Self-knowledge and self-development of the individual involves going through the following stages.

The structure of self-awareness

Human self-knowledge includes the following elements:

Ego image. This is the structure of knowledge about oneself. The way a person treats himself shows his way of building relationships with other people.
Self-control. This is the regulation of one’s own actions and mental state depending on the requirements and norms of behavior and communication.
Self-esteem. The procedure for assessing oneself based on the principle of acceptance or non-acceptance.

Features of self-knowledge are expressed in the interaction of three expressions of one’s own Ego:

Real. Consistent with the person’s self-image at the current moment in time. With the help of self-knowledge, you can see an objective picture of your own situation. An individual evaluates himself from various positions. The general image is formed on the basis of all social roles. A person literally asks himself questions about what kind of parent and worker he is. The results may satisfy the individual or frustrate him. If the images do not coincide with each other, experiences and suffering appear. A person is able to go into deep reflection.
Perfect. These are the internal motives and aspirations of the individual for self-improvement. This includes desires, dreams, and ideas about oneself in the future tense. An idea is formed about what needs to be done in order to get what you want. This component shows the level of aspirations, ambitions and confidence in oneself and one’s abilities. Most often, an ideal image is formed, due to which a person does not notice the results already achieved. Many remain at the dreaming stage without taking real action. To realize the ideal Ego, there must be a desire for change.
Past. This is the stressful part that affects the way a person builds his life. The past cannot be changed. Negative moments experienced do not allow the individual to become more active in the present tense, making him overly cautious. We must remember that the past is an irreplaceable experience that helps us analyze our own actions and decisions. Thanks to this, a person can concentrate on future achievements.

The psychology of self-knowledge is a unified system, the components of which are inextricably linked. Having realized this structure, a person can more easily realize himself in the future.

Self-knowledge as a process of personality development

Universal human values in development and self-knowledge tend to be acquired throughout life. A number of theories and approaches have been developed that assume the individual’s readiness for this process, including the gradual passage of its stages. First, the child learns to distinguish himself from others. Forming with age, he develops beliefs about himself. He also finds motivation that encourages him to develop himself and improve his life.

Self-knowledge determines the culture of behavior, the specificity of thinking and feelings. As a result, everyone can create a scenario of existence and improve it by changing the ways of realizing consciousness.