We all have an image of ourselves, what we can call a 'self concept'.
Self Concept of a person can be understood as those attributes or areas of experience about which the person can say "I am......". Like if asked to describe oneself, a person may define oneself in terms such as 'I am strong, I can be angry, I sometimes feel vulnerable'.
For this person Strength, Anger and Vulnerability are parts of a self concept, and when he feels angry or vulnerable, there will usually be congruence between feelings and the resultant words and actions.
But lets say, if this person does not define himself as nurturing, and is in a situation where a feeling of care or nurturance is evoked, he will not be able to put that inner sense of feeling accurately into words or even actions, and will express the feeling or impulse in a distorted or inappropriate way. Someone who doesn't see themselves as nurturing may, for instance, become very busy 'doing things' for someone who needs no more than companionship, comforting or the human touch.
When this happens, the individual could experience a sense of incongruence or disconnectedness. It's almost like a disconnect between how 'I'd like to be behaving' ( my ideal) and how my 'self concept' makes me behave. And this can leave people disturbed and stressed.
Self awareness can thus be a basis for aligning your 'self concept' with your 'ideal self' , and this can happen either through change or 'self acceptance'.
At a deeper level this enables an alignment between 'feelings, thoughts and actions', which is what being 'in the flow' is.....and in a sense a here and now 'self actualization'
It's extremely powerful, and so worth the effort (or should I say awareness :)
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