Psychologists tell us our self-image defines(限定) what we believe we can and cannot do. Each of us over the years has built up belief about ourselves: Unconsciously, our pictures of who we are have been formed by past experiences. As self-image plays a great role in our growth, gaining a proper understanding of it and even making changes to it can hold significant meaning for our development.
Changing our self-image is possible: Some psychologists suggest we begin to change our self-image by mentally picturing ourselves performing well at some tasks. Since we presently react to things based on our present images, it's suggested that we replace those with better ones. In many experiments, people were asked to sit quietly for a few minutes each day and imagine themselves doing well. For example, subjects would sit and imagine themselves throwing darts(飞镖) at a bull's-eye on a target Over a period of weeks, their dart game improved.
The point of changing self-image is not to develop an image of ourselves that is not real. The aim is to find the real self and to bring our mental images of ourselves in line with our true potential. However, it is generally accepted among psychologists that most of us fail to do justice to ourselves. We're usually better than we think we are.
Another important part of changing self-image is to not think about past mistakes. Don't let failures do harm. It is all right to make mistakes. But when they have taught us what we did wrong, we should forget them and not dwell on(纠结于)them. Sometimes we keep remembering our failures or mistakes and feel guilty or embarrassed about them, and then we develop a fear.
It is important to have realistic expectations of ourselves. Some of our dissatisfaction might come from expecting too much of ourselves. If our goal is to reach perfection, we are doomed(注定要失败的)from the start.
