THE MINDFULNESS OF SELF-CONCEPT
- LAURA BRENNAN BALLET
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
When we consider the definition of Self-Concept as is written today, it explains that our beliefs around self-image, the values we create around self-esteem, and the striving towards the Ideal self - who we aspire to be, is actually, in flux.
Our patterns around Self-Concept however, can be fixed and then stored as negative energy and fuel for cycles of behaviors and habits that do little to contribute to our full potential. As stories and beliefs around the idea of “who I am, and who I am becoming,” unfold, the mental model related to the inner dialogue can become wedged into the psyche, physiology, and internal mapping system, reinforcing a level of deception and internalizing certain narratives that limit and restrict personal development.
When we believe we are one way, and yet, hold in doubt a conflicting thought that we are another way, based from a feeling set in place by an experience which developed a conclusion, our self-concept can come into question.
If we were to reflect on who we are based on a story that created a belief and examined its truth, we may discover an existing gap between the actual story and the belief that was created from the perception of that story. And at the root of that experience, the belief we hold to be accurate, may not be true at all.
When awareness is revealed that who I thought I was can be redefined, the opportunity to rewrite the narrative becomes both exciting and life transformative. Understanding that how I am presently showing up is not a fixed and lasting state of repeatable energy, but rather, an environment that supports ongoing personal advancement.
When we adapt positive Thought-Energy patterns centered on empowering our Self-Concept, we create the conditions of detachment from protective patterns and gain inner authority. Selfevolution and meaningful growth become a fresh pattern of restorative choice.
Igniting a sense of willingness and shifting our present mindset, we begin to release both external expectations and our own personal criticism. This helps support a new recognition as to how social and interpersonal interactions can leave us in a state of internal division, for instance; authentic self vs the conditioned self.
As less than favorable patterns, behaviors, and habits begin to take hold, this environment is ripe for higher awareness which can generate changes that IN-POWER our potential. This activation will inevitably EMPOWER the next tier of our choices and spark newfound insights, skills, and techniques that push momentum, forming an expanded framework of possibilities.
I was recently addressing a common challenge with a young adult male client. A general example can be applied to showcase how a belief formed in childhood and supported by societal interactions can reinforce self-doubt and take root within the structure of self-concept.
Most of the time men are raised to be strong and remain stoic, even when emotional needs are present and require expression. Men tend to feel an obligation towards suppression, regardless of personal outcomes. We know the old-time adage all too well, for a man to express emotions, this can be considered a sign of weakness, at least, by some individuals. This is negative energy in real-time being formatted into a self-mapping system that shapes identity, setting in motion a learned defensive mechanism that can block self-compassion and growth.
This particular framework limits a developing mindset, creating negative causation on both the developing self and future relationships.
As an Empowerment Designer, when I am coaching men around this challenge, I remind them to actualize positive Thought-Energy, and to think through the challenge with a modern intellect; vulnerability is a strength, not a failure.
This also can become an opportunity for parents and guardians to model personal accountability. Recognizing that being raised in a certain way does not require repeating the same patterns within the family dynamics.
Understanding how Thought-Energy patterns within the structure of family dynamics can be quite challenging, while attempting to raise confident men and self-assured woman, can present specific challenges. The topic around women and compassionate self-empowerment exploration, is certainly a unique journey.
Navigating the shifting demands of family life with the desire to care for oneself, places expectations at a disadvantage relational to personal potential. And guiding young daughters along the mercurial terrain while attempting balance for self and the family, requires many skills, adaptability, and resilience.
Women who are raising daughters on their own, as well as single fathers, realize that in order to teach, guide, and support the next generation of women, there is a delicate balance that requires both an inner strength and an exterior resolve. It certainly can help when two parents or caretakers are sharing the responsibility. When given the space, we can discover new ways to IN-POWER personal abilities that in turn, enhance and EMPOWER the family dynamics, reinforcing connectivity and a stronger sense of Self-Concept.
As women redefine how we think, feel, and express ourselves, alignment with a higher knowing is settling in nicely. How we think about ourselves is at times, different than what we believe about ourselves, both of which, can be empowering. And though we are transforming dormant potential at every turn, even as complexities arise, we are developing laser sharp instincts as to how we will continue to demonstrate personal evolution.
Through a creative process that requires a rewriting of the beliefs we hold, we can encourage ourselves and our youth to build a linking system between self-value and collective acceptance.
We can remind one another that it is important to honor the past, forgive what we can, and while we learn to release the attachments to that which no longer serves us, we can at times, forgive, which allows us to move forward.
Through Empowerment Design Coaching, whether in session with our youth or a seasoned adult, I have witnessed how clarity can bring stability, and through reflection not force, individuals and families can rewrite their stories and begin to nurture novel beliefs.
Cultivating a “modern-mindset,” can benefit us as we move through the ebb and flow of trial and outcome. And through The Mindfulness of Self-Concept, we can emerge a touch more improved than the day before.
When leadership encourages effort in, and not just results, creative and trusting environments allow rising talent and the established work force to showcase their untapped potential. This invitation can nurture growth and innovational development. Leadership can also convey, that rather than striving for perfection, individuals and teams can express a higher level of SelfConcept through collective respect as well as individualized accomplishments.
As we learn through our social interactions, that connectivity to our past stories and the attachments to our present beliefs, does not always represent an essential truth, we can reprogram the internal architecture, break subconscious contracts, and elevate our Self-Concept throughout our lifetime.
We can now reauthor not just what needs to change, but how to create change that lasts. With wisdom, clarity, and courage, we can revise the meaning and relational presence of SelfConcept, and reorient our energetic input and preferred definition of self with alternative resolutions.
We no longer need to absorb all the information as truth, but merely a reflective mechanism for self-governance. Once we understand how a belief can be shaped, based on a story from a specific experience, we can move towards self-actualization and no longer remain at the directive of outside influence, or non-beneficial personal acceptance. We can choose a modern version of what will serve us best.
This is not to ignore real events and solid emotions in relationship to actual experiences, but rather, to remind us that we can look back at where we may have been emotionally and where in our development we were at the moment the story was created. We then leverage this observance and recalibrate the narrative to empower an advancing belief, benefiting both us and our connections.
Whether we are at home, work, or experiencing the in between of the daily routine, the encounters we had in our younger years, begins to feel very differently when identified later in life. As we accumulate wisdom, a shift in perspective may support a reinterpreted mindset. Who we are in the present and who we may become has less to do with any single event and more to do with the opportunity for self-empowerment and the strengthening of our Self-Concept.
Integrating new options and replacing automatic patterning that has been collected in our “thought energy warehouse,” is an agent of change. When we release the thinking, “this happened to me in the past,” and therefore, “I feel this way about it again,” we remain in contract with the loop, which restricts growth. This mindset acts as a retention boundary, blocking development and diminishing our experience of a healthier Self-Concept.
As we say in The Science of Empowerment, “suspend the doubt” i.e., the constant story-feelingthought loop-and belief, and shift the energy. Negative to Neutral to Positive.
For example, “I want to be more outgoing, however, I tend to stay at home and decline invitations based on insecurities from past hurts.” Here as you move into the story of the “why,” (past thoughts and feelings connected to a past experience that keeps me anchored to limited energetics,) you can empower a new story and a new creational belief.
The Mindfulness of Self-Concept can recalibrate the negative behavior by mirroring its opposite. For instance, “I feel this way based on the past, but I am now present in this moment and can choose to think differently about the possibilities of what I may experience.”
A brief introduction to the J3=E Formula from The Science of Empowerment. Thought-Energy in action. Awareness to an outdated thought-energy loop. A Willingness to reconstruct the pattern. Accountability to intentionally elevate personal empowerment from the past to the present, then towards future positive expansion. Critical Thinking, suspending the emotionality of reaction through clear and rational thinking in order to calculate a positive response for growth. Energy- I have neutralized a past story and NEGATIVE belief that has kept me stuck, and as I rebuild a NEUTRAL framework of possibilities, I natural experience the POSITIVE evolution of Self-Concept.
The Mindfulness of Self-Concept allows us to break the story which is at the core of a belief into segments of perception and perspective. As we move through the scenes that created the belief, we do have authority to see the lesson and the purpose in even the most challenging of experiences. This viewing allows space for personal grace, compassion, and permanent change.
Keeping in mind that self-concept, like life, is an ever unfolding and shifting energy. Bringing awareness to the process of mindfulness and the consistent selection of self-concept can be a life transformative and empowering skill.
Ultimately, when we learn how to judge the past with less resistance, we begin to release the inner critic and outside blame. We no longer allow opinions to have directive over us as we begin to develop accountability towards a new relationship with self. And as we learn how to incorporate new tools, empowering formulas, and mindset-development techniques, the Mindfulness of Self-Concept supports a more proactive and intentional energetic patterning. These patterns are now refreshed, intentional, and on purpose.
.....we learn how to judge the past with less resistance, we begin to release the inner critic and outside blame
Remember, Self-Concept is not a fixed state that has you held captive. It is energy in motion, a living pattern based on human experiences built into the human condition that can be reformatted at any time.
As it has been stated in The Science of Empowerment for close to two decades now, when you activate Awareness, Willingness, Accountability, Critical Thinking, and Energy, known as The J3=E Formula, this convergence ignites Self-Empowerment with The Mindfulness of SelfConcept.
This is a spark of innate wisdom, that once activated, aligns with Thought Energy and begins to reorganize itself to serve the next level of personal development. Here is where you begin to change the architecture of your mindset.
No longer anchored to a point of reference that does not serve our highest intentions, energies that were once distorted from trauma and chaos, born out of times of vulnerability and underdeveloped knowledge, now become more neutralized and redirected. Alignment becomes effortless, coherence recognizes itself, and attention is reflected through an expanded alliance.
Once we engage, as the Buddhist suggest, with the concept of non-attachment, we free ourselves from the past. We don’t forget, and yet, at times, we forgive. And in the process, we catch a glimpse of a hidden truth; ego holds purpose, heart holds depth, and consciousness holds knowing-The Mindfulness of Self-Concept can initiate a new journey of becoming.
We don’t forget, and yet, at times, we forgive. And in the process, we catch a glimpse of a hidden truth; ego holds purpose, heart holds depth, and consciousness holds knowing-The Mindfulness of Self-Concept can initiate a new journey of becoming.
In order to bring into the collective a source of power and kindness that can shift the course of any present challenge, we must become the very essence of positive action, open expansion, and authentic belief in the known self. This is not just a concept, but an understanding of living energy.
Once aligned with this awareness, everything begins to stabilize and elevate. Once you remember that you are energy in its purest form, learning, growing, and developing through various levels of expression, you start to authorize and propel a transition that has been lying dormant.
The Mindfulness of Self-Concept is the opportunity, not just to understand self-empowerment, but to accept the invitation, embrace the experience, and actively embody the power.
Meet the expert:
#1 International Bestselling Author/Speaker/Empowerment Designer. Laura's acclaimed book bridges the science of Thought Energy with the artistry of personal transformation. The Science of Empowerment reveals how Thought Energy patterns shape identity, behavior, and outcomes. Reprograming internal architecture, breaking subconscious contracts, and elevating self-concept to match personal highest potential.
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