How to Conduct a Self Analysis
Reflect on your childhood experiences., Keep track of your moods., Write down what you were thinking., Evaluate the thinking patterns., Examine if you have healthy or low self-esteem.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Reflect on your childhood experiences.
Understanding who you are and why you do the things that you do is not always easy.
Much of what drives behavior and self-perception is the result of subconscious attitudes and beliefs.
It’s important to dig deep in order to figure out how you truly see yourself on a subconscious level.
Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself:
As a child, did I feel listened to or was I harshly criticized? Was I spoken to respectfully or was I ignored, criticized, or teased? Did I get appropriate attention and affection or was I neglected? Was I physically, verbally, or sexually abused? Were my accomplishments recognized? Were my shortcomings and failures accepted or was I berated? Was I always expected to be perfect? -
Step 2: Keep track of your moods.
Keep a journal with you for an entire day.
Whenever you feel a shift in your mood, write down what you are feeling.
This is the first step in identifying what your inner voice is communicating to you.
The inner voice is not actually a voice that you hear with your ears.
Instead, it is the collection of thoughts that you experience.
These thoughts are often so deeply embedded in the subconscious that you may not even recognize them when they occur.
Instead you’ll probably just experience a change in mood.
Your inner voice is either affirming or self-defeating.People with healthy self-esteem usually experience an accepting and reassuring inner voice.
However, people with low self-esteem generally experience a harsh, punitive, and critical inner voice.
Journaling can be tough for some people, especially if you write about past traumas that you have not fully processed.
If you find that journaling is upsetting you or causing you difficulty handling everyday life for the day or week after attempting to journal, talk with a counselor who can help you journal productively while keeping you healthy. , The thoughts that you were experiencing immediately before your mood shifted is a good reflection of your inner voice.
They are called automatic thoughts and generally reflect how you see yourself, others, and the world.Writing down these thoughts throughout the day will help you see if a pattern emerges.
Automatic thoughts originate in the subconscious so sometimes they are difficult to pinpoint.
You can start by asking yourself “What made me feel this way.” Then dig deeper by asking yourself probing questions like “What does that say about me?” “Why did that make me feel that way?” The first few answers are often superficial responses.
Keep asking yourself “What else?” until you are able to probe into the deeper automatic thoughts.
For example, if a co-worker said something that made you angry, you may initially write down “Andrea said that what I did was incorrect.” “That made me angry.” “She tried to make me look like I was incompetent.” And after asking yourself several times “What else?” you may eventually pinpoint a thought that you didn’t realize was there, such as “I’m not as good at this as everyone else.” , After you have written down several automatic thoughts, you’ll probably see a pattern begin to emerge.
Ask yourself what the underlying theme is among your thoughts.
Are they healthy and liberating or are they negative and self-defeating? Common thought patterns that tend to emerge from negative automatic thoughts include:
All-or-none thinking occurs when a person thinks that one misstep makes his or her or the situation a failure.
For example, if you make one error at work you may think that you're a failure at your job.
Disqualifying the positive is when a person only focuses on what he or she has done wrong and ignores or forgets about all of the good that he or she has done.
For example, a person may focus on getting one problem wrong on a test when he or she has gotten all of the other questions right.
Jumping to conclusions is when a person makes a judgment without having all of the facts.
For instance, you may see your best friend running in a direction away from you in a parking lot.
You may assume that your friend is trying to avoid you.
However, your friend may have been late for an appointment and did not notice you.
Labeling happens when a person applies a label to his or herself (or someone else) rather than acknowledging the action or behavior.
For example, instead of thinking, “I could have handled that differently” you may think, “I’m a bad person.” , Healthy self-esteem reflects a person’s belief that he or she is worthy and worthwhile.
Alternatively, a person with low self-esteem often feels poorly about him or herself and constantly needs other people’s approval.
If you notice that you have a lot of negative thinking, then you may be dealing with low self-esteem.
Low self-esteem has a negative impact on the way that you see yourself so it’s important to intentionally work on having a healthy and balanced view of who you are.
If you’re still not sure it you’re experiencing low self-esteem, consider these three “faces” of negative self-esteem:
The Victim:
This person acts like he or she is helpless and waits for others to come to the rescue.
He or she tends to use self-pity or indifference to masque underlying fears of failure.
He or she tends to be unassertive, may be an underachiever, and excessively relies on others for reassurance.
The Imposter:
This person acts as if he or she is happy and all is well when really petrified of failure.
This person needs to always be successful in order to be happy, often leading to perfectionism, competition, and burnout.
The Rebel:
This person tries to downplay others, particularly people of authority.
He or she lives in constant anger about not being good enough and tends to focus on not being hurt by the criticism of others.
This can lead to blaming other people for his or her problems and he or she may frequently oppose authority. -
Step 3: Write down what you were thinking.
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Step 4: Evaluate the thinking patterns.
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Step 5: Examine if you have healthy or low self-esteem.
Detailed Guide
Understanding who you are and why you do the things that you do is not always easy.
Much of what drives behavior and self-perception is the result of subconscious attitudes and beliefs.
It’s important to dig deep in order to figure out how you truly see yourself on a subconscious level.
Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself:
As a child, did I feel listened to or was I harshly criticized? Was I spoken to respectfully or was I ignored, criticized, or teased? Did I get appropriate attention and affection or was I neglected? Was I physically, verbally, or sexually abused? Were my accomplishments recognized? Were my shortcomings and failures accepted or was I berated? Was I always expected to be perfect?
Keep a journal with you for an entire day.
Whenever you feel a shift in your mood, write down what you are feeling.
This is the first step in identifying what your inner voice is communicating to you.
The inner voice is not actually a voice that you hear with your ears.
Instead, it is the collection of thoughts that you experience.
These thoughts are often so deeply embedded in the subconscious that you may not even recognize them when they occur.
Instead you’ll probably just experience a change in mood.
Your inner voice is either affirming or self-defeating.People with healthy self-esteem usually experience an accepting and reassuring inner voice.
However, people with low self-esteem generally experience a harsh, punitive, and critical inner voice.
Journaling can be tough for some people, especially if you write about past traumas that you have not fully processed.
If you find that journaling is upsetting you or causing you difficulty handling everyday life for the day or week after attempting to journal, talk with a counselor who can help you journal productively while keeping you healthy. , The thoughts that you were experiencing immediately before your mood shifted is a good reflection of your inner voice.
They are called automatic thoughts and generally reflect how you see yourself, others, and the world.Writing down these thoughts throughout the day will help you see if a pattern emerges.
Automatic thoughts originate in the subconscious so sometimes they are difficult to pinpoint.
You can start by asking yourself “What made me feel this way.” Then dig deeper by asking yourself probing questions like “What does that say about me?” “Why did that make me feel that way?” The first few answers are often superficial responses.
Keep asking yourself “What else?” until you are able to probe into the deeper automatic thoughts.
For example, if a co-worker said something that made you angry, you may initially write down “Andrea said that what I did was incorrect.” “That made me angry.” “She tried to make me look like I was incompetent.” And after asking yourself several times “What else?” you may eventually pinpoint a thought that you didn’t realize was there, such as “I’m not as good at this as everyone else.” , After you have written down several automatic thoughts, you’ll probably see a pattern begin to emerge.
Ask yourself what the underlying theme is among your thoughts.
Are they healthy and liberating or are they negative and self-defeating? Common thought patterns that tend to emerge from negative automatic thoughts include:
All-or-none thinking occurs when a person thinks that one misstep makes his or her or the situation a failure.
For example, if you make one error at work you may think that you're a failure at your job.
Disqualifying the positive is when a person only focuses on what he or she has done wrong and ignores or forgets about all of the good that he or she has done.
For example, a person may focus on getting one problem wrong on a test when he or she has gotten all of the other questions right.
Jumping to conclusions is when a person makes a judgment without having all of the facts.
For instance, you may see your best friend running in a direction away from you in a parking lot.
You may assume that your friend is trying to avoid you.
However, your friend may have been late for an appointment and did not notice you.
Labeling happens when a person applies a label to his or herself (or someone else) rather than acknowledging the action or behavior.
For example, instead of thinking, “I could have handled that differently” you may think, “I’m a bad person.” , Healthy self-esteem reflects a person’s belief that he or she is worthy and worthwhile.
Alternatively, a person with low self-esteem often feels poorly about him or herself and constantly needs other people’s approval.
If you notice that you have a lot of negative thinking, then you may be dealing with low self-esteem.
Low self-esteem has a negative impact on the way that you see yourself so it’s important to intentionally work on having a healthy and balanced view of who you are.
If you’re still not sure it you’re experiencing low self-esteem, consider these three “faces” of negative self-esteem:
The Victim:
This person acts like he or she is helpless and waits for others to come to the rescue.
He or she tends to use self-pity or indifference to masque underlying fears of failure.
He or she tends to be unassertive, may be an underachiever, and excessively relies on others for reassurance.
The Imposter:
This person acts as if he or she is happy and all is well when really petrified of failure.
This person needs to always be successful in order to be happy, often leading to perfectionism, competition, and burnout.
The Rebel:
This person tries to downplay others, particularly people of authority.
He or she lives in constant anger about not being good enough and tends to focus on not being hurt by the criticism of others.
This can lead to blaming other people for his or her problems and he or she may frequently oppose authority.
About the Author
James Mitchell
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in crafts and beyond.
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