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MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

Part 7: My Relationship with Myself

What sort of relationship do I have with myself?
How much do I know myself?
Am I a worthy person? Do I value myself?
What sort of person should I (or do I) aspire to be?

Human beings are probably the only animals that can reflect on themselves in any meaningful way: we have a strong sense of self. We communicate with 'our self' in the form of thoughts and feelings. We may like or dislike our self. We become emotional with our self as when we are angry about something we did or didn't do. We blame our self and call our self names, or we give our self praise for something we have achieved. We feel sorry for and comfort our self when misfortunes happen to us. Now and again we are kind to our self and give our self a treat. We laugh at our self. Sometimes we may say, 'I am afraid of myself and what I might do'. We might even deliberately harm our self. And so on.

Of course 'you' are the same as 'your self' - these aren't literally two different people! Nevertheless, much of the time it is as though there is 'you' and this person - your 'self' - whom you have known all your life, from whom you are inseparable.

What does your personal philosophy say about your relationship with your self and how you believe it should be? Does your personal philosophy consider any of the following question to be of special importance for you?

We have many expressions that are preceded with the word 'self': self-esteem, self-regard, self-discipline, self-determination, self-actualisation, self-care, self-fulfilment, self-harm, and self-loathing, to name a few. Are any of these (and others you may think of) of special significance to your personal philosophy?

In this part of My Personal Philosophy you reflect on yourself as a person and your relationship with yourself. Some of this will be about how that relationship is now. But it also concerns (where relevant to you) what your personal philosophy says about how this relationship should be, the person you are, what you think your worthiness as a person should be about, what your life is all about, and other matters listed above.

As always, spend plenty of time free-associating about this and making notes if this helps.

When you are ready, go to your 'My Personal Philosophy' record and begin writing up your beliefs under the heading 'What I believe about my relationship with myself'. Remember, this is always a work in progress, so you need only make a start on it at this stage. Revisit it, add to it and take things away, re-prioritise, and rephrase. Make use of the Reflections section if this helps

When you have written as much as you wish, and when you are ready to resume, return to 'Part 3: Setting Off' and choose your next part.

Return to Part 1: What it's all about