The “Self” and Communication - Com 200

Understanding Interpersonal Communication

 How we see ourselves is a critical part in how we communicate with one another. The old adage, “you are what you eat,” is analogous to, “you are who you think you are.” The question is who do you think you are? Who you think you are is a combination of “how you see yourself, how others see you; and the various relationships you have; to include, how you respond to those who give you feedback as to who they think you are within those relationships, and what society says you should be,” (Sole, 2011, chp. 3).

I have a strong sense of self-concept and self-esteem so I feel that I am able to function in what I believe is an ever evolving manner. Meaning, I am not afraid to try new things, I am an eternal student, and I love interacting with people. On the other hand, my self-esteem suffers at times because I have weight issues and I still have issues with how certain relationships evolved during my youth. I would like to think that I do not buy into the media or society’s concept of what is acceptable or not acceptable physically. I know how I want to look and what I think is acceptable. However, I do not seem to be able to stay on any kind of lifestyle change or stick with exercise, and yet, I continue to feel down about my physical appearance.

If I am honest, I have to say, I have struggled to overcome all the negativity that I experienced throughout my youth but I feel confident that I very rarely suffer from low self-esteem as a result of it. I do think that it does interfere with my some of my interpersonal relationships due to certain things that make me think about previous negative situations.

I would love to adopt the feeling from the title of the 1988 book by writer and Minister Terry Cole-Whittaker, “What Other People Think of You is None of Your Business,” (Sole, 2011, sec. 3.4). I wrote that down and I will read it until I believe it!

Reference:

Sole, K. (2011). Making Connections: Understanding Interpersonal Communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.