if this bridge had the power as a time portal, maybe we could have traveled to the past time back then, to the time when we used to go wherever we wanted to when we were young, fully alive and full of love, to the season when we had a bunch of enthusiasm and passion that could not be broken by anything and anyone, to the period when we talked all night long about various topics, we didn’t shut up,
+ : “I don’t like walking around this graveledroad..” > : “so hold my hand, my dear. I will never let you walk alone.” + : “sometimes I don’t have any idea whether I am wrong or right, sometimes I am clueless..” > : “it’s your mind is tricking you around, my dear. “
time changes, season changes,
+ : “there’s an old and familiar voice in my head which brings reminisce..” > : “well, tell her that I miss our little talks.” + : “what should we do then?“ > : “we’ll keep carry on, my dear.”
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart Proverbs 21:2
What distinguishes human beings from other creatures and living things is the fact that human has common sense, logical and rational thinking as well as cognitive skills. Meanwhile, what distinguishes human beings from technologies, machines, and robots is the fact that human has emotion, empathy, and conscience. The combination of both facts influences human behaviors, preferences as well as decisions among various options and circumstances. This also brings out another issue in decision making, namely time inconsistency, in economic and psychological perspectives. The issue of time inconsistency, in the long run, would hinder someone or some institutions in accomplishing the objectives and targets established initially. While it may be appropriate to make decisions by using discretion adaptively as a response to certain situations, to some extent, it is also crucial to have several rules or commitments to avoid time inconsistency in order to keep on track to achieve a certain set of goals.
Time inconsistency fundamentally means that there is disagreement or contradiction between a decision maker’s different selves regarding decisions and actions to be taken. Furthermore, in the behavioral economics context, time inconsistency is associated with the way in which each different selves of decision-makers may have different preferences regarding current and future decisions. In other words, time inconsistency refers to a situation in which preferences of decision-makers change along the time such that some preferences could appear inconsistent with each other at some other point in time. An individual with time-inconsistent preferences tends to weigh the value of the present more than the future. As a result, he/she might make decisions with a present bias issue, and hence inclined to prefer the options that would make him/her happy at the moment. Thus, time inconsistency could be defined as the inability to consistently make decisions following a long-run target or plan over one’s lifetime.
Some Illustrations
There are numerous examples of time inconsistency, which will be discussed from economics and psychological contexts. From the economics example, time inconsistency might appear in both microeconomics e.g. behavioral economics, and macroeconomics e.g. central bank independence. Firstly, in behavioral economics, a study from Loewenstein and Prelec (1992) show that should people are given the following two choices: $500 today or $505 tomorrow, and $500 in a year or $505 in a year and one day, the time-consistent answer expected would be to choose either $500 in both cases or $505 in both cases. Nevertheless, the result reveals that many people would opt for $500 today for the first choice and $505 in a year and one day for the second choice, from the present time. This combination of decisions reflects time inconsistency since both choices include precise discrepancies, that are $5 and one day, and hence it is supposed to have the same choice irrespective of time.
The time inconsistency, in this case, might occur since these people discount the benefits of choices progressively with time. In other words, some people tend to put less value on the benefits of a choice that gets far in the future. This condition indicates the so-called immediacy effect or temporal discounting, which refers to the view that the present time has a chiefly high value in comparison to any point of time in the future. As a result, someone would not pay equivalent attention to the present and the future self. In addition, time inconsistency further might associate with various daily topics such as procrastination, addiction, efforts at weight loss, and pension fund.
Another source of time inconsistency in the context of behavioral economics is the sentiments associated with past and future experiences which could be perceived as individual natural discounting mechanisms and hence making it more sensitive to distant future rewards and penalties in selected events. Further, miscalculation and competition for limited resources that forces some people to think that it is better to act now because the opportunity may not be available tomorrow could also lead to inconsistent behavior. In addition, personal mindset or orientation and priority concerning the future or the present, for instance, doing the right thing rather than willingness, also contributes to inconsistent behavior over time.
Secondly, in the macroeconomics context, Kydland and Prescott (1977) suggest that monetary policymakers struggle with time (dynamic) inconsistency in terms of inflation expectations. They argue that the central bank as a monetary policymaker should be independent to avoid the problem of time inconsistency. As an illustration, politicians, particularly in the period of the national election, probably have the best campaign promise to keep low inflation in the future. Nevertheless, when the future comes, lowering inflation may have its downside, such as increasing unemployment, and hence they are inclined to do less attempt in accordance with their initial promise. This means that they do other actions based on people’s responses after the announcement of their policy or covenant for certain reasons. In most cases, time inconsistency of political acts evokes due to the costs and benefits of policies and institutional changes emerging at different times.
Blejer and Nagy-Mohacsi (2017) explain that populist politicians are aware of the costs of their promises and policies, however, they may have agenda to gain and maintain power regardless of the costs, distract the focus to hold their covenants and hence lower their intention to pay for the consequences. In order to address this time inconsistency issues, macroeconomic policy-making circles in numerous states have shifted towards the mandate of inflation targeting and central bank independence as solutions. This raises the notion of an independent policymaker (central banks) as it is believed to be advantageous for an economy to keep its performance on track to the target established, without the intervention of any kind of political interest. A time-inconsistent policy might please the society in the short run but would eventually fail to achieve the long-run policy objective. On the contrary, a time-consistent policy, set and hold to the long-run policy objective yet might not be popular for the public in the short run.
The micro and macroeconomics example above could be connected to each other since the subject is a human being by incorporating the two types of time inconsistency, namely intra-personal time inconsistency and inter-personal time inconsistency (Baddeley, 2019). Intra-personal time inconsistency in behavior economics could be explained as the outcome of intra-personal strive between different selves at different times (Frederick et. al, 2002). Intra-personal time inconsistency manifest in present bias and preference reversals. As an example, when an individual is planning for a further time in the future regarding relationship or partnership, he/she might be confident to face any challenge and risk, as well as believe in the capability of resisting temptation at the time he/she makes the plan, but when temptation and struggle become real, more immediate and tangible, they respond by changing their preferences which reflect the inability to persist the temptation, which could also be linked with the immediacy effect mentioned before. Moreover, Frederick et. al (2002) and other experimental evidence from psychological and behavioral economic studies agree that individuals’ time preference rate is unstable and dynamic, and hence the intra-personal time inconsistency is reflected in the shifts in an individual’s rate of time preference depending on the time period in which he/she manages the available options. The intra-personal time inconsistency might further magnify the problem of inter-personal time inconsistency – which involves other parties or entities outside of an individual e.g. institutions – and creates the issue of present bias, i.e. an unequal concern on short-term rewards and a mismatch between long-run intentions and short-run actions that could explain the dynamic strategic interactions between policymakers and private agents in the macroeconomy.
Furthermore, another intriguing facet regarding time inconsistency comes from the competing interest of the ‘should’ self and the ‘want’ self (Rogers and Bazerman, 2008). In certain situations, each individual may confront a dilemma between the deliberative ‘should’ self and an affective ‘want’ self in decision making. These faces of oneself might contribute to the time inconsistency of an individual. Rogers and Bazerman (2008) show that people are more probable to select options that provide the ‘should’ self, i.e. the option that he/she should do when the choices will be applied in the distant rather than the near future. Put this ‘should’ self in policymaking context, it is suggested that it will have a sort of policy design and decisions which could have systematic behavioral consequences that would improve welfare, vice versa. Meanwhile, the ‘want’ self might bring comfort and pleasure in the present moment but not necessarily in the future, and this might be the reason for the spontaneity or impulsive traits in making decisions when one does not apply a proper and sufficient consideration before deciding actions.
What Could Be Done?
From the examples of time inconsistency given above, it could be inferred some solutions in regards to the issue. First, from both micro and macro perspectives, individuals, as well as institutions, might need to hold commitment with respect to each of their goals. With the presence of commitment in any kind as a reinforcement attempt and device, beliefs might become more optimistic over time, people might be more likely to keep on track in acting or thinking in such a way that allows them to achieve what is aimed, and people properly show a preference for commitment which in turn leads to a more time-consistent behavior (Brunnermeier, Papakonstantinou and Parker, 2016). Recalling the initial commitment could also play a role as fuel for an individual to be persistent in times of temptation. Moreover, for institutions, well-designed institutions could contribute to overcoming time-inconsistency problems when they are equipped with behavioral macroeconomic policy solutions such as effective commitment mechanisms for policymakers, e.g. long-term contracts to reinforce and supervise the behavior of the institutions with their ultimate objectives.
Second, from the macro perspective, policymakers, in particular, might have to make credible rules. Ergo, to some extent and for some institutions e.g. central bank, it might necessary to be independent in terms of designing and making policies, and have credible rules. Kydland and Prescott (1977) highlight the importance of balancing not only the desirable and popular policy to handle a given set of circumstances but also the framework which is more likely to produce the best (or second-best) policy over time. Credible rules are crucial to gain trust between public and private sectors in order to keep them operating in such a manner to reduce the probability that either party will fail to hold on to their predetermined commitments. For instance, in the case of the state budget, a balanced-budget rule might be considered to keep the economy from the debt ceiling crisis. Following up this rule by applying derivative credible rules, e.g. enforcement of a strict private credit limit and a local government debt ceiling that could not be increased would force people to commit to certain actions in accordance with the rule. Meanwhile, in individual level, personal credible rules could play a role as guidance containing predefined action/plan for a given situation, e.g. a daily budget cashflow, budget allocation, and cash-only rule or a credit card with a low-level spending limit might act as prevention from spending money extravagantly and wisely manage private finance. It is expected that by using credible rules, they (individuals and institutions) will behave in a more time-consistent manner.
In conclusion, there is a well-known phrase that says time is relative. It should be noted either that human being is dynamic living creatures, in terms of acting and thinking. An individual is relative in the face of time, circumstances, and the surrounding environment. Individuals and institutions set their objectives and might make decisions that align with their intentions, however, some circumstances may place people and institutions in periods where they act inconsistently with the initial goals. Therefore, reinforcement and guidance are needed to cope with struggle and temptation in order to accomplish the ultimate objectives. This post is intended to tell that individuals, as well as institutions, might need some principle and commitment as guidance in making decisions to accomplish objectives established. Being adaptive to the circumstance is a necessity in order to survive in a time of struggle, yet commitment and principle could be a fundamental and useful postulate to keep consistent since consistency is a key.
References
Beljer, M. and Nagy-Mohacsi, P. (November 22, 2017). Populism and time inconsistency. Vox EU CEPR
Baddeley, M. (July 19, 2019). Behavioural Macroeconomic Policy: New perspectives on time inconsistency. Retrieved 12 September 2020 from https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.07858.pdf
Brunnermeier, M, Papakonstantinou, F. and Parker, J. (2016). Optimal Time-Inconsistent Beliefs: Misplanning, Procrastination, and Commitment. Management Science
Buol, J and Vaughan, M. (January 1, 2003). Rules vs. Discretion: The Wrong Choice Could Open the Floodgates. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Frederick, S., Loewenstein, G. and O’Donoghue, T. (2002). Time discounting and time preference: A critical review. Journal of Economic Literature, XL:351–401
Kydland, F. and Prescott, E. (1977). Rules Rather than Discretion: The Inconsistency of Optimal Plans. Journal of Political Economy. 85 (3): 473–492
Loewenstein, G.; Prelec, D. (1992). Anomalies in Intertemporal Choice: Evidence and an Interpretation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 107 (2): 573–597.
Rogers, T. and Bazerman, M. (2008). Future lock-in: Future implementation increases selection of ‘should’ choices. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 106, 1–20
Apa yang lebih riuh dari hiruk pikuk lalu lintas Jakarta kala jam sibuk menerpa? yang lebih aktif berkelana dari lalu lalang para pekerja? yang lebih pelik dari padatnya permukiman di sudut ruas kota? yang lebih berkecamuk dari petir pada masa kejayaannya? dan yang lebih menantang dari kerasnya ibukota?
Benak saya yang belum cakap mengambil sela dan memasang jeda.
Being an adult is inevitable as it is part of an individual’s phase of life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, an adult refers to a person older than 19 years of age unless national law defines a person as being an adult at an earlier age, until 65 years of age. Narrowing down that general category of adult by WHO, the Department of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (2009) further specified adulthood ranging from late adolescence (17-25 years old), early adulthood (26-35 years old), late adulthood (36-45 years old), early elderly (46-55 year old) and late elderly (56-65 years old). This categorization might lead people to define adulthood as a state of being, while the real definition of adulthood might be a set of actions, responsibilities, and maturities in thinking and behaving. Frankly speaking, it is undeniable that some people in adolescence view adulthood as a phase of freedom and joy to live with and get impressed without knowing the other side behind the curtain of adulting. While adulting means freedom to make decisions, on the other hand, it also means taking responsibility for oneself, and hence it is beneficial to take a peek at the reality of adulting to be wiser in undergoing adulthood, particularly for Millenials who are currently entering the young adult phase of life.
Adulting or becoming an adult means that an individual is becoming responsible for himself/herself in every life aspect. It is the phase where someone gradually becomes independent from the self-caretaker e.g. parents, in making decisions regarding any options provided and taking the consequences as well. Moreover, Arnett (2006) combines his research and concludes three main signs that someone is an adult, namely taking responsibility for the self, making independent decisions, and being financially independent. These three signs require and may improve the maturity of oneself as he/she grows older and becomes an adult.
The first sign which indicates someone is being an adult is when he/she can take responsibility for himself/herself. It generally means embracing the obligations of an individual’s well-being without relying upon and expecting anyone else, particularly self-caretakers such as parents, to protect and take those obligations. For instance, practically, being an adult encourages an individual to figure out where his/her income in terms of money sourced from. Unlike in childhood or even adolescence where someone’s money comes from the self-caretaker without needing to search for it, adulthood promotes individuals to seek money in order to fulfill the needs by themselves. Eventually and rationally speaking, people need to find a secure job and start saving for the future, besides the obligations that they will have to pay for bills coming from many needs such as home, food, electricity, water, apparel, vehicle, and so forth. This condition might challenge someone to choose between passion and monetary factors in choosing a job or career. Further, this circumstance requires good financial management for an adult to sustain the well-being as part of his/her self-responsibility.
The second sign of being an adult is making independent decisions. Another distinction between childhood, adolescence, and adulthood lies in the options that someone has as well as the independence of making the decisions. During childhood and juvenile, individuals grow up in structured and determined circumstances with limited options to choose from, not to mention that most of the choices are decided by the self-caretakers. For instance, when someone is in elementary school, it is certain that he/she will continue to secondary education at a certain time, and hence the uncertainty regarding the future option is relatively low and the options of another correlated aspect are relatively slight. However, adulthood is almost totally the opposite of previous circumstances. Individuals are facing ad infinitum choices and options that they have to decide independently without interventions from anybody else. The options include but are not limited to work to do, potential partners to marry, things and people to spend time with, and so forth. It is worth noting that the decisions someone makes are influenced by numerous past and present factors as well as future considerations and expectations.
Moreover, the other important side of making independent decisions is the fact that each individual has a peculiar and specific means and timeline with regard to the circumstances and decisions being made. It is not a one-size-fits-all situation and therefore an individual needs to know that it is fine to adjust to the circumstances of adulthood with his/her individual-specific attributes. For example, someone’s response to a trait or behavior of his/her partner in a relationship might not necessarily be the same as, supposedly, his/her friend to that trait or behavior. It further helps individuals to choose the potential partner to marry with and a similar way might be applied to other decisions in other examples. Furthermore, this means that adulting encourages someone to focus on the self, not to interfere with others’ lives and decisions, and to be a bigger person in terms of maturity. As people grow older and meet many new people, they usually recognize and accept the fact that they might not fit in to befriend some people and hence their circle of friendships are getting smaller as they value the quality of friendships rather than the quantity. Their peer groups might be those who are matched with them in certain ways and traits, and they might be able to ignore unnecessary remarks as they will be more able to filter and avoid non-essential arguments as well as accept the fact that it is getting harder to keep in contact with everyone and balance life at the same time. Some people view that being an adult means having peace with the past as well as finding meaning from struggles and moving forward to be a better person.
The third indicator of being an adult is financial independence. Financial independence means that individuals no longer rely on their self-caretaker to finance and take the costs of their behavior. In order to obtain financial independence, an individual needs to have a revenue stream, either through getting a paid job or starting a business. However, to maintain financial independence to be sustained in the long run, financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy is needed. This kind of literacy means an understanding of how the economy affects the quality of life, how to manage any kind of individual assets responsibly, how to act appropriately in professional contexts, and how an individual’s decisions and behaviors affect individual financial achievements and goals. In essence, it means preparing well and making the right choices for the future of an individual financial condition by creating a budget allotment, setting savings or investment goals, as well as practicing other basic financial-management techniques.
An example of financial independence is the affordability of houses among young adult. Recent data released by Pew Research Center during February to May 2020 shows that around 52 percent of young adult (18-29 year-olds) Americans were living with their parents. It suggests that albeit the proportion was pushed by the pandemic as young adults struggled to get by, it is also part of a longer-term pattern. This new pattern of living for the Americans reflects the importance of the housing market to overall economic growth. A study by Tekin (2020) explains that after the adjustment for inflation over time, the median house prices in 2017 grew 121 percent nationwide since 1960, while median household income only rose 29 percent. The condition of a higher growth rate of housing price than income growth is not only happen in the developed countries such as the U.S., but also in developing countries e.g. Indonesia. The growth rate of house prices in cumulative reached 5 percent, compared to 3.1 percent cumulative growth rate of income nationwide. Although further study regarding this topic need to be conducted and there might be another determining factors, yet this fact could be seen as preview of Millenials’ financial independence struggle nowadays.
However, the importance of financial independence might vary across nations as it also determined by each nation’s and society norms and cultures. While financial independence might be perceived as important in the U.S., in developing countries such as Indonesia, where kinship is relatively high and there is a culture of mutual cooperation, these cultures further do not place too much financial independence, especially during times of financial crisis. Indonesian collectivist cultures emphasize that people are socially responsible for their families and that children must look after their elders, which further could lead to the problem of the so-called Sandwich Generation. For example, individuals might have to work away from home to provide financial assistance or sacrifice their leisure time to raise siblings. On one hand, this pressure could restrict young Indonesians as much money and time is consumed with family duties. On the other hand, their loyalty is rewarded with a sense of security and reciprocal assistance when needed.
In addition, most of Indonesian Millenials in particular could be said as more dependent on parents due to economic anxiety as a product of the financial education pattern raised by parents. There was more common in a communal society like Indonesia for families to feel obliged to take care of their children until they could be financially independent, even after they have graduated from university. Thus, the issue is not merely about money, but also regarding the mindset of doubt that children will manage their financial aspect when they grow up. Another factor that might trigger the economic anxiety among Millenials is the combined circumstance of economic uncertainty and widespread political dynamic.
Being an adult means becoming aware financially, emotionally and being skill-wise, or the so-called self-advocate. Moreover, being self-advocate means that an individual knows how to make decisions based on self-preferences, beliefs, skills and capabilities that open the opportunities to succeed in each own definition. In order to become a self-advocate, oneself needs certain perspectives gained from literacy. Firstly, the Health literacy which refers to the understanding on health issues such as how to access the health resources and services, choose healthy meals, stay active, and understand your healthcare insurance options. Secondly, the Civic literacy, which means an understanding of individual’s role in the community and the responsibilities as a citizen in order to be aware of the issues which influence one’s life and make an attempt to support those issues. Thirdly, the Global awareness, which refers to the understanding on cultural diversity through staying up-to-date on world news, and know how global events impact different parts of the world. Fourthly, the Environmental literacy, which means an understanding on how people behaviors affect the environment and conversely, how the environment affects people health, technology, economy, living conditions, etc. In addition, Millenials in general are arguably aware on the issues of environment e.g. the climate change as there are emerging behavior of recycling and adopting other sustainable practices. Finally, the Financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy which has already mentioned and described before.
In conclusion, growing up is one thing that unavoidable for every individual as they get older. Yet, being an adult is another thing that consists of certain attributes and needs maturity in thinking and behaving. One of the raising global issues regarding adulting is the financial independence in which one of the examples could be taken from the affordability of house among Millenials and the generations afterwards. While there might be another factors affecting someone in adulthood and financial independence, it is worth noting the importance of being self-advocate to manage adulting life properly since people were not born to just pay bills.
References Arnett, J. (2006). Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties. Oxford: Oxford University Press
“her name is Lizzy. she makes everything easy. she takes most of things easy – not to underestimate it, but only a more relax approach towards problems. she has black and glazed eyes, a typical of Asian woman. her shoulder-length short hair has taken my attention from the very first time we met. she has her own fashion style, as well as lovely personality, a unique one among the homogenous society where we live in. I know she is different, in a positive way. she is not tall, and maybe a bit thin, but she has a huge heart. she is talkative, she tells me everything about her and her story, while I’m listening carefully with a smile and sometimes a big laugh since we are in tune and we have the same taste of jokes. good story or bad story, there is no gap between them because the struggling time had taught her to accept and be peaceful with what she had been through. while I tend to overthink something, she simplifies the complicated, and makes fun of something troublesome, which in turn makes me feel relax and be more confident. she brings balance and complements me. somehow we are connected, my feeling said.
she introduces me to a whole new world that I never know before. her existence has inspired and encouraged me. “I’m no one’s favorite“, she described herself, without knowing she’s my favorite. she tends to undervalue herself when everybody else overvalue themselves. I can tell how the struggle she’d faced had shaped her kind-hearted and sincere-support traits. she likes to nurture almost everything. she has her own small yet orderly garden, a girl with aesthetic taste. also, she organized her mini library full of books properly. she never skip a month without reading books. she nurtures our relationship with loyalty and compassion. sometimes, while I’m not explicitly saying my concerns, our connected mind have spoken it loudly and made a deal correspondingly. she has an aspiration to open an integrated business based on what she likes, a conceptual mini restaurant. I totally support her business as she supports me entirely with my job and my career. she’s never blinded by her ambitions, like I said, she makes everything easy. she lives her life passionately, which is what I also admired most from her. she may not be super smart, but she knows how to treat others and adjust to circumstances – yes, she is intellect. she may not be super rich, but for her, a sufficient revenue is enough for materialism is not on her priority list. she may not be the most beautiful girl in town, she may not possess multi talents or skills, but she knows what she likes, what she wants and what she has to do with her life, without bringing any harmful to anyone surrounding her. instead, her inspiring thought and acts has actually brought much benefits for others, including me. she is enough, I am enough, we are enough for each other.
when I come back home from work, she is already sitting in the sofa, eagerly waiting for me with two cup of teas in the table, and continuing our never-ending intriguing discussion. we live on easy street, not overly, neither lacking. her words never hurt me, even once. when we argued, we communicated with understanding and be mindful with our words. I know we may not undergo a constantly happy moments in our relationship, but I know for sure that whatever happens will only bring us together and grow in convergence as unity. our story never threat each other, I am sincerely glad to know every single story she told me, and so is she. we celebrate and be grateful for the success story during our journey in happy times, and remind each other, maintain and strengthen in times of trouble. we never cease to pray for each other, support with any kind of help we can do to each other. we have the same level of concern on faith, we worship together and sharing our contemplations about verses. we grow together in faith. we know we have a limit lifetime together so we have dealt to cherish every moment together, value our time more than money. we agree to get to the point with proper communication and leave useless dramas. she makes me saying, “I have found what I’m looking for!” and celebrating it with a bunch of joyful. she is nearly perfect – if there is no perfect human in the surface of the earth.”
“I see. maybe, she has all you want – or even need – from a girl to be your partner in romantic relationship. you describe her a bit specific as if she was real. but, she is not real, eh? only exists in your ideal thought. maybe you are confused. there is no perfection under the sun, you know that, so take it properly and manage it well. now, get yourself together and take what you need, including courage, and be on your way, go ahead and focus on your path. face the world with kindness and sincerity in your heart and behavior. be joyful in your journey, since it is the last thing you might desire while you are under the sun!”
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” – Proverbs 4:23
Expectation embarks from an individual’s mind could turn out to be reality. The impact of expectation on the actual event is further called The Pygmalion effect. While managing oneself interpretation and response toward matter occurs is essential to produce the best act, managing the expectation is important as well to help create proper reality in oneself life. Therefore, knowing and understanding the Pygmalion Effect – which is relatively underapplied – could be a powerful means to positively affect oneself as well as those around him/her.
The Pygmalion Effect, which was first studied by researchers Rosenthal and Jacobson in 1964, could be briefly defined as a psychological phenomenon in which certain expectations affect performance in a given area. Moreover, the Pygmalion Effect refers to the conscious interpretations and beliefs of how reality is supposed to be, and hence, people adapt their acts, thoughts, and demeanors to fulfill expectations. The Pygmalion Effect could also be thought of as a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which the belief that something, either positive or negative, is about to happen in oneself life, will eventually occur since he/she, consciously or unconsciously, moves forward to meet the expectation. Thus, the expectations people have upon themselves as well as others could also make those expectations to be a reality.
There are several attributes of the Pygmalion Effect that should be noted. First, the Pygmalion Effect could only perform when people are physically adequate to achieve what is expected of them. Second, overly high expectations might also be stressful since people could not do anything only due to expectations from others. As a result, people could get discouraged, demotivated, and even not doing any attempts. Third, the probability and certainty to complete expectations influence whether the Pygmalion Effect could further give effect or not. For instance, research by McClelland and Atkinson shows that should people view their chances of success as being less than 50 percent, the Pygmalion Effect degrade. In other words, the Pygmalion Effect could not hold if any effort seems impossible to meet the expectations as people’s confidences are eroded.
Someone’s achievements, as well as way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving, are more or less impacted by the expectations of people around him/her, such as partners, bosses, colleagues, friends, parents, etc. One of the reasons is that people treat someone in a distinct way when they expect him/her to perform well in any capacity. Although those expectations might raise due to biased or irrational thinking, they have the power to affect an individual to some extent and further alter the occurrence.
Nevertheless, the more important thing in affecting someone’s reality with regards to expectations is the mindset. The mindset leads one to act accordingly to what he/she could do to enhance his/her current role and keep on track to achieve higher objectives and aspire in a more meaningful way. The mechanism in which mindset turns expectation onto reality comes from the attitude that someone takes into actions often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When people think that they could not obtain something, the possible responses are either they do not make any start, or retreat immediately, or tend to self-sabotage their attempts in some other way. Conversely, when people are confident and convinced that they could afford something, they would hasten to make a start and tend to stick with what they want and do to obtain the goal even when the circumstance is getting tough. They further are able to find ways, reinforcement, and encouragement to keep moving forward consistently instead of stepping out of the process. Briefly, people’s mindsets bring impact to their performance and settle up in reality with the results they had initially expected.
In more specific examples, the first instance of the Pygmalion Effect is in the education sector. The study of Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968), shows that teacher expectations influence students’ performance. The result concludes that the only discrepancy between the high achiever students and their fellows is the belief of their teachers that they have the skills and talents to be high achievers. Rosenthal further explains that the discrepancy of achievements and performances between students caused by teachers’ expectations, which also could be applied to other sectors is mainly due to four key factors, including warmer socioemotional climate (such as warm and hospitable behavior), input (the teachers’ propensity to provide more energy and attention to their special students), output (how teachers involve their special students more often for answers) and feedback (providing regularly more helpful and supporting responses to their special students compared to the peers’ ones). In addition, the more recent example is the study of researchers for the liberal advocacy group Center for American Progress in October 2014 which suggests that 10th-grade students are more than three times more possible to graduate from college when they have teachers with higher expectations than students who have teachers with lower expectations, ceteris paribus.
The next example is in the industrial organization field. Many studies indicate that the performance and productivity of employees are positively affected by their managers’ performances and expectations. Employees become more productive should managers’ expectations are high and they have high hopes for their employees, vice versa. Gündüzalp and Özan (2019) reveal that while high expectations, in general, would result in high performance, low expectations would instead affect negatively employees’ motivation as well as unwillingness to complete the job in progress and hence result in declining performance. Moreover, it could be inferred that managers’ beliefs about themselves might also influence their beliefs upon their subordinates and their expectation of them which in turn affect their treatment of their subordinates. Furthermore, Berlew and Hall (1966) suggest that fulfilling a company’s high expectations in the critical first year of an employee’s career might internalize positive job attitudes and high standards to the employee that in turn would lead to success in the following years due to the amplification of a strong and high performance.
The third example is coming from the macroeconomy context, for instance, consumers’ and producers’ expectation of inflation is one of the key factors of actual inflation. From the demand side, when consumers expect that prices of goods will increase in the following week due to certain day celebration e.g. Christmas Day, they will have more incentives to buy goods in the current time when prices are still lower than that they expect to become (assuming consumers are rational). The sudden shock that increases the demand for goods would in turn lead to the increase in prices of that goods due to the limited stock of supply of goods, and hence would spark actual inflation, ceteris paribus. Meanwhile, from the supply side, with the same example case as previously explained, when producers expect that the price of goods will rise in the next period of time due to higher demand of goods, they will have more incentive to pile up the stock of supply and sell it in the right time which might result in scarcity, a decline in goods supply. This scarcity and shift of goods supply would in turn lead to an increase in the price of goods, holding the assumption that producers are rational. Thus, the producers’ expectation of inflation might result in actual inflation, in reality, ceteris paribus. In addition, another example comes from the investment sector. Gennaioli et al., (2016) suggest that corporate investment plans and actual investment are well explained by the Chief Financial Officers’ expectations of earnings growth, and show a positive and high correlation between the variables.
From the three examples above, it could be highlighted that when one expects certain behaviors from people or things, he/she would treat them in a different way which further could possibly impact the behavior towards them. Someone’s beliefs about others give effect to his/her treatment toward them, which impact their beliefs about and their actions toward him/her that in turn might reinforce his/her initial beliefs. For instance, if one believes that he/she is a hard worker, then he/she would make attempts and work hard, and people would perceive that he/she is and treat him/her correspondingly.
As the Pygmalion Effect has two sides of the same coin, positive and negative impacts, hence it should be managed properly to promote the bright side and positive impact for oneself and the surroundings. First, an individual needs to examine and be mindful as well as be aware of his/her beliefs and expectations of self and others in order to create positive feedback loops, appropriate attitudes, behaviors, and points of view, and encourage movements toward the accomplishment of the main objectives and goals. Second, evolve and nurture growth and positive mindset i.e. embracing challenges and viewing obstacles and crises as opportunities to develop self-growth in many aspects. Third, discover positive traits and positive reinforcement such as discipline, commitment, developing a strong and healthy mentality, and assertiveness to be consistent to perform well in doing tasks and making attempts to accomplish the objectives.
In conclusion, it is valuable to give attention to the beliefs and expectations that one has towards those around since those expectations and beliefs about others could have an actual impact on reality. As expectation could bring benefit to self and others, and on the other hand, it also could bring a negative effect as well, depending on how someone manages the expectations and beliefs to produce more of the benefit. Through a positive mindset and expectations, an individual is inclined to seek evidence to support his/her beliefs, and gradually, that beliefs for self and others become reality. It should be noted that an individual does not always need external encouragement to succeed, nevertheless, his/her own expectations are pivotal to affect behaviors and further the actual events. As a closure, managing expectation is in balance with managing reality.
References Berlew, D. and Hall, D, (1966). The Socialization of Managers: Effects of Expectations on Performance. Administrative Science Quarterly Boardman, S. (May 21, 2015). The Pygmalion Effect: Do Expectations Shape Reality?. Huff Post De Toda, C. (December 21, 2017). The Pygmalion Effect and the Power of Expectations. Neuron Up Ellison, K. (October 29, 2015). Being Honest About the Pygmalion Effect. Discover Magazine Farnam Street Gennaioli, N., Ma, Y. and Shleifer, A. (2016). Expectations and Investment. NBER Macroeconomics Annual. 30. 379-431. 10.1086/685965. Gündüzalp, S. and Özan, M. (2019). The Power of Expectations in School Management: Pygmalion Effect. Journal of Education and Future, issue 15, 47-62. Leyshan, T. (August 22, 2013). The Pygmalion Effect – Expectations Can Create Your Reality. Clark Morgan Livingstone, J. (January, 2003). Pygmalion in Management. Harvard Business Review Ness Labs https://www.shawnmaust.com/2017/08/the-pygmalion-effect-when-your-expectations-become-reality/ Oppong, T. (August 1, 2018). Pygmalion Effect: How Expectation Shape Behaviour For Better or Worse. Medium Rosenthal, R., and Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. Urban Review,3, 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02322211 Wire, B. (May 17, 2020). Pygmalion Effect Definition. Retrieved 29 August 2020 from https://boycewire.com/pygmalion-effect-definition/
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 4:6
Happiness is subjective and rigidly associated with someone’s perception and personal-specific experience. However, generally, it often seems difficult and nearly impossible to feel happy when the uncontrollable external circumstances and environments are pathetic, horrible, unstable, uncertain, or not in a conducive condition. Some people, therefore, seek happiness (pleasure, enjoyment) through various ways such as buying and consuming as many (luxurious) goods as possible, doing some exercises, watching entertaining movies or TV shows, or by such a destructive way like overly drinking alcohol, consuming drugs in order to feel a good mood or temporary euphoria. Most people often get deluded in chasing after a pseudo-happiness, while true happiness might be the more proper one that they are truly looking for, and hence, it is pivotal to change the pursuit from a pseudo-happiness that is temporary and sourced from the external world of oneself to true happiness that comes from within the self and is long-lasting. This post hopefully might be a reminder for individuals in adjusting perceptions towards happiness so that they could avoid the bias in pursuit of happiness.
Happiness could be defined as a positive mood, a state of well-being that includes living a good life with a sense of meaning and deep satisfaction. It is found that most people in the world value happiness more important than other desirable personal outcomes, such as achieving awards, obtaining a great amount of money, and owning luxurious material goods. While the definition might be applied universally, what makes people happy could have different answers for different individuals as they have their own source of happiness that they perceive. Moreover, it is suggested that there are several factors which (could) affect someone’s happiness, e.g. genetic factor, life circumstances, achievements and awards, marital status, social relationships, physical environments, as well as individual ways of thinking and expressing feelings. Nevertheless, research concludes that happiness is under personal control.
Meanwhile, an individual should also be aware of a bias of perception in chasing after happiness – a pseudo-happiness – in which he/she thinks that possessing somethings, obtaining certain positions, having a relationship with someone or anything else sourced from external self would bring happiness. The bias might appear in many orientations, such as success, materialism, and hedonic treadmill. The bias in the pursuit of happiness lies in the perception that the more individuals have money – or any other tangible things, you name it – the happier they will be. When people reach a milestone such as buying a new house or securing a position, they have a strike of happiness, but eventually return to baseline – in other words, that happiness is a temporary feeling. This encourages the hedonic treadmill, where people continuously believe that the next change or transformation will bring happiness.
If you're not happy single, you won't be happy taken. Happiness comes from accepting the absurdity of repeatedly rolling a boulder up a mountain, not from relationships
Moreover, misperceptions of happiness arise when it goes to what individuals think will make them happy. People often believe that happiness will be accomplished when they get into a certain milestone in life, such as finding the perfect partner or having a particular salary. Thus, the bias in pursuit of happiness is mainly sourced from someone’s dependences and overly expectations upon the external factors or things to make him/her feel happy.
It is not to say that chasing after material and worldly things or trying to achieve greater wealth is useless, yet it should be noted that the perception of having everything that someone perceives would make him/her be happy is a misleading objective in the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, such material and mundane things could be supporting factors to obtain pleasure and enjoyment for physical needs. A study from Binghamton University in 2019 suggests that success materialism – wealth and material possessions are perceived as a sign of success in life – affects life satisfaction positively by encouraging economic motivation of individuals that could lead to an increase in the future satisfaction with their standard of living, and further positively impacts the overall life satisfaction. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that it is not automatically fulfilling the true happiness which comes from the mental and spiritual needs – the core of human beings.
Ironically, the result of the pursuit of a bias and pseudo-happiness is the feeling of unhappiness and unsatisfied. For instance, the pursuit of happiness materialism (wealth and material consumption is the sign of a happy life) could negatively affect life satisfaction in two different ways (Sirgy, 2019). First, it could lead people to feel discontented with their current standard of living, which in turn affects overall life satisfaction negatively. Second, it could lead an individual to neglect satisfaction from other important life aspects, such as family and social life, health, etc., which in turn would negatively affect overall life satisfaction.
Furthermore, there are two more real examples to explain the paradox of pseudo-happiness. The first example is taken from research by Jebb et al. (2018) which shows that the ideal income for individuals is $95,000 annually for life satisfaction or evaluation and $60,000 to $75,000 a year for emotional well-being, excluding families with children which certainly will need more. Emotional well-being is defined as one’s day-to-day emotions, such as feeling happy, excited, or sad and angry, while life satisfaction or evaluation means an overall assessment of how someone is doing and is likely more influenced by higher objectives and comparisons to others.
Nevertheless, incomes above $95,000 are not associated with an increase in well-being. The study thus reveals that once the threshold is attained, further raises in income are actually linked with reduced happiness. This might be due to the importance of money in fulfilling basic needs, purchasing goods, and perhaps loan repayments to some extent. Once the optimal point of needs is overcome, people might be driven by desires such as buying more material gains and involving in social comparisons, which in turn could ironically lower their well-being. In addition, life evaluation is prone to be more affected by the standards by which individuals compare themselves to other people.
The second example comes from the acknowledgment of an Indonesian artist, host as well as an entertainer who arguably has everything that a man could dream of. People would easily think that he absolutely lives with happiness since he has abundant wealth, an elegant house, sophisticated cars, and lives with his beautiful wife and children. Yet, in an interview with a former journalist, he admits that he still feels unhappy or stressed with his life even though the current life is the life which he was once dreamed of when he was younger. In addition, he explains that true happiness is sourced from the inner self, the feel of gratitude instead of having everything that seems promising happiness.
Happiness is your original state minus the belief that happiness has to be bought, or minus the fear that happiness is somewhere else. Inner happiness is a release from foolish external conditioning and a return to divine saneness.
Robert Holden (2008)
Therefore, individuals need to be mindful of their perceptions of happiness. True happiness comes from within, it roots from the inner self, and could not be replaced by any of outer self might propose. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time, while pleasure could come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015). Happiness encompasses curiosity, as well as the ability to tolerate risk and restlessness to reveal new passions, potentials, and aspects of an individual’s identity. It embraces a balance between momentary pleasure and longer-term striving toward objectives. Furthermore, happiness covers the ability to acknowledge and embrace various emotions, even the unpleasant ones. It involves seeing the macro views instead of getting stuck in the details. In sum, living with happiness means living with mindfulness, meaning, and purpose. Happiness encourages people to find joy in lasting relationships, being absorbed in working toward their objectives, and living life in accordance with their values.
As mentioned above, happiness is subjective and personal-specific, and hence it is also subject to each person. However, there might be several things to be noted which further could be some references in finding true happiness summarized from some sources. Those include doing everything with thoughtfulness, appreciation, and patience, keeping the good in mind and letting go of the bad, living with gratitude and counting the blessings, writing down objectives and taking steps toward them, accepting and being in the present moment, applying self-compassion by being mindful and taking care of the self (both physically and mentally) better, not relying or expecting happiness on others or things, incorporating balance, keeping positive mind and optimism (positive mental state), focusing on what could be done and taking a break appropriately, giving and practicing acts of kindness and generosity to others, stopping useless thought e.g. “if only” thinking and self-comparison to others’, taking a new perspective toward happiness, working on something and being fully passionate in doing it – in other words, being in flow, and experiencing happiness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997).
Research suggests that while money could buy happiness to some degree, the quality of the expenditure is also as important as the quantity. Further, money could buy happiness, particularly if it is spent for the sake of the goodness of other people. It should be emphasized that someone does not need to have everything he/she wants in order to be happy since true happiness could be attained by being grateful for what he/she already has, no matter how much or little that may seem.
It is worth noting that an individual’s happiness is not others’ responsibility to take, vice versa. If someone constantly keeps trying to make others happy, when would he/she be happy? Thus, happiness is each self-responsibility. Individual’s true happiness comes from within, not in placing it to other people or things. Ultimately, true happiness comes in gratefulness.
Binghamton University. (September 3, 2019). Wealth can lead to more satisfying life if viewed as a sign of success vs. happiness. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 22, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190903125622.htm
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow. Basic Books.
Holden, R. (2008). Authentic Success. [Audio File] Hay House.
Jebb, A., Tay, L., Diener, E. et al. (2018). Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world. Nature Human Behaviour 2, 33–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0277-0
Sirgy, M., Yu, G., Lee, D. et al. (2019). The Dual Model of Materialism: Success Versus Happiness Materialism on Present and Future Life Satisfaction. Applied Research Quality Life. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09763-8
Knowing the importance of self-acceptance as well as the urgency and benefit of having high self-acceptance leads to the next question: how could individuals practice and obtain such high self-acceptance? While the exact answer may vary and be individual-specific, there are several general ways to practice self-acceptance on a daily basis. At least, there are two concepts that could contribute to gaining high self-acceptance which might be applied to daily activities, namely self-awareness, and self-transcendence.
This post aims to discuss and describe the two concepts of self-awareness and self-transcendence including the ways that an individual could apply the concepts to improve self-acceptance, starting from physical tasks to mental and perspective treatments. However, narrowing the scope of discussion regarding the way to increase self-acceptance to be more specific, easy to understand and concise is necessary to keep the discussion on point. The methods of boosting self-acceptance in this discussion will be based on two main facets, namely internal and external facets. Self-awareness represents the internal facet, while self-transcendence indicates the external facet of the attempts to obtain full self-acceptance.
Firstly, from the internal facet, high self-acceptance could be obtained by focusing on himself/herself i.e. self-awareness which includes self-regulation. Self-awareness by definition means the ability to pay attention to oneself, and thus to self-evaluate (Silvia and O’Brien, 2004). This would make an individual comprehend a good knowledge about his/her own characters, feelings, motivations, and desires. Therefore, self-awareness includes monitoring self-stress, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. It should be highlighted that self-awareness is a delicate balance of two different – probably even competing – viewpoints (Eurich, 2018). Moreover, Silvia and O’Brien (2004) suggest that people with low self-awareness may be unable to take the perspectives of others, practice self-control, exhibit creative accomplishments, or experience pride and high self-esteem.
Discussion regarding self-awareness could further be taken from two points of view, namely internal and external self-awareness (Eurich, 2018). Eurich suggests that people with high of both internal and external self-awareness – the so-called Aware – would show characteristics in which they know who they are, what they want to achieve, and look for and respect others’ opinions. On the contrary, those with low internal and external awareness – the so-called Seekers – would not know who they are, their stances, and how others see them. As a result, they would feel stuck with their performances as well as their relationships. The deficiency of self-acceptance could appear in disguise but it may still be differentiated with the sufficient one. For instance, an individual who does not accept or forgive himself/herself and hence he/she is still apart from the self and does not feel as solid as oneself is one example of lacking self-acceptance.
Self-awareness could be obtained by regularly meditating i.e. mindfulness and self-regulation. Meditation here involves many kinds of meditations, including religious rituals in order to accomplish peace of mind. It is a continuous spiritual growth journey. Furthermore, meditation could help in compressing negative emotions, e.g. self-hatred, and unnecessary overthinking, embracing shadow self, refocusing on the positive aspects of oneself, and adjusting the right attitudes toward any kind of circumstances so that an individual could see the opportunities and potentials in himself/herself, and hence could relieve stress as well as be more hopeful and passionate in each situation. Meditation teaches an individual to be kind to himself/herself and others, be forgiving, keep clarity and a positive mind, be tolerant to imperfection, and let go of negative emotions due to something taken personally. In addition, contemplation in meditation could encourage an individual to have more comprehensive self-knowledge. Good self-knowledge might further lead to self-compassion and could be guidance in taking steps in career, relationship, interests, and any other aspects of life.
Another way to boost self-awareness is through doing hobbies and interests. Embrace any kind of talent, hobby and interest could help to find every single side of oneself. For instance, exercising or doing sports are beneficial both physically and mentally. Physically, it helps maintain stamina, immune and metabolic systems as well as body healthy overall. While mentally, it trains someone to focus on the established target, have a strong and never-give-up-mentality, have confidence, and believe in self-capability. Other examples such as writing essays, poems, scientific articles, etc. Writing helps an individual to express ideas and emotions or feelings, encourage to explore and learn any kind of discussion topic and linguistic course, as well as capture each of his/her events and work as a personal record at the very least. Thus, knowing hobbies and interests, and doing it consistently could bring both manifest and latent benefits in terms of self-awareness, and build self-capacity and self-capability.
Secondly, from the external facet, high self-acceptance could be accomplished by applying self-transcendence – surprisingly, it is the forgotten Maslow’s highest level on the hierarchy of needs above the self-actualization. Self-transcendence exhibits a declining dependence on externals of oneself, raising interiority and spirituality, and a greater sense of connectedness with past and future generations (Levenson, et.al, 2005). Once an individual is self-transcendent, he/she becomes less dependent on things outside of the self to define himself/herself. Practically, it could be achieved by contributing to work, family, or society.
Furthermore, self-transcendence is associated with the rise above the self and related to that which is more formidable than the self. Concisely, it is the recognition and acknowledgment that the self is a small part of a greater whole, and acting and contributing correspondingly. That which is more formidable than the self could be in various terms including human beings in general, nature, the universe, divine power, etc.
“Transcendence refers to the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and to the cosmos”
(Maslow, 1971, p. 269)
Wong (2017) suggests certain characteristics of self-transcendence people, including a switch in focus from the self to others which is a shifting of an individual from selfishness to consideration of the needs of others, a switch in values in which an individual is no longer get himself/herself driven by extrinsic incentive, or external rewards and expectations, yet by intrinsic reason (the gift for an activity is the activity itself), an increase in moral concern which leads an individual to have more vigorous regard on doing what is right, and the emotions of elevation such as awe, amazement, feeling uplifted, etc., which could be sparked by all previously described characteristics.
Moreover, several ways to practice self-transcendence in daily life could be done by doing meditation, self-empowering with knowledge and wisdom to raise awareness, embracing the spiritual and physical journey to find insight, and discovering self-spiritual methods that bring closer to individual’s life purpose and ideal self. Furthermore, self-transcendence could also be done through evoking realization of the present moment by practicing meditation and mindfulness, being more grateful instead of insecure, encouraging willingness to favor and help others voluntarily, and being more ethical in making a decision.
In conclusion, self-awareness and self-transcendence contribute to self-acceptance in a distinct way. Nevertheless, both concepts could help to unveil the obscure experienced by an individual in the spiritual and physical journey. Ultimately, it is worth noting one important thing in practicing self-acceptance, which is to be consistent. As the tweet above says, try to practice a thing (self-acceptance) a thousand times instead of practicing a thousand things once.
Levenson M., Jennings P., Aldwin C., and Shiraishi R. (2005). Self-transcendence: conceptualization and measurement. Int J Aging Hum Dev., 60(2):127-143. doi:10.2190/XRXM-FYRA-7U0X-GRC0
Maslow, A. H. (1971). The farther reaches of human nature. New York, NY, US: Arkana/Penguin Books.
Silvia, P. and O’Brien, M. (2004). Self-Awareness and Constructive Functioning: Revisiting “the Human Dilemma. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 475-489. doi:10.1521/jscp.23.4.475.40307
Wong, P. (2017). From Viktor Frankl’s logo therapy to the four defining characteristics of self-transcendence. DrPaulWong.com.
“I am a growing human being realizing how my ego to validate myself is still high, but that’s okay. I know what I want, and today I’m going to keep on maintaining my ego and slowly let it die, one by one, until I can make room for another human being…”
In the past few weeks, the two quotes sourced from Twitter above had introduced and triggered the author to discover more about self-acceptance, which might be related to the struggle faced by most young adult individuals. Self-acceptance, in brief, could be defined as acceptance by an individual towards all of his/her attributes, both positive and negative. The term includes the entire concept of body acceptance, self-protection from negative criticism, and believing in his/her capacities and capabilities. Most people might not recognize the importance of self-acceptance – or even not realize the term itself, whereas it has a crucial role in someone’s mental health particularly during the transition from adolescence into adulthood and hence it is imperative to practice self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance is important for some reasons. Self-acceptance brings several pivotal benefits to individuals. Self-acceptance would help individuals calm and manage themselves more effectively by validating their thoughts and emotions. The self-validation that initiates self-acceptance would further help individuals accept and better understand themselves, which links to a stronger identity and better self-control and confidence. Self-validation could also enable individuals to find wisdom and meaning in their mundane activities.
Individuals who have high self-acceptance are typically open with others and generally have positive feelings and thoughts about themselves, which in turn allow them to be successful – accomplish their plausible target in life, as well as lead them to feel fully functioning and contribute to society. Arguably, once individuals have high self-acceptance, it is easier to live their life to the fullest – knowing what they want and their self-potential in accordance to their capacities and capabilities as well as to find the meaning of their life and existence which further prevent them from having life or existential crisis.
Moreover, Neff et al. (2007) suggest that self-compassion – which has similar attributes to the term self-acceptance – might lessen the impact of anxiety when being confronted with an ego threat in a laboratory setting. Furthermore, it is found that rises in self-compassion occurring over a one-month interval are associated with higher psychological well-being. They show that a high level of self-acceptance could decline an individual’s focus on negative self aspects and encourage them to a higher possibility of involvement in acts of self-love.
As opposed to the benefit of having high self-acceptance, individuals with low self-acceptance might be more susceptible to getting overwhelmed, frustrated, anxious, self-doubting, or low self-esteem, and to feel isolated, unsatisfied, and insufficient regardless of having everything that most people want and need. Moreover, they might easily get tempted to compare themselves with others’ achievements. This evokes the irony of them not realizing that they compare their shadow selves with others’ highlights. These conditions eventually may lead individuals’ psychological and mental well-being to suffer, impede their self-development in many aspects and hinder them from living their life to the fullest potential.
Furthermore, self-acceptance plausibly underlies the growth of several psychological aspects such as self-esteem, self-confidence, self-awareness, self-functioning, etc. The development of these aspects in individuals’ psychological state might determine their behaviors, attitudes, and responses toward their external world, life satisfaction, and existence as human-being. Thus, it is necessary to put attention and effort to obtain self-acceptance as it could further direct individuals to achieve a peaceful state of mind and true happiness sourced from their inner selves.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that self-acceptance is important for the state of individuals’ mental and psychology as well as their growth and development as human-being. It is prudent to put more concern and attempt to have high self-acceptance.
References Harvard Health Blog Huff Post Neff, K. et al. (2007). Self-compassion and adaptive psychological functioning. Journal of Research in Personality 41, 139–154 Psychology Today
+ Interviewer: I’m interested in this particular topic which might relate to certain people out there, notably in their ‘crisis’ time, periods when individuals questioning several things that appear in their life. Do you think that some pieces of you, internally, need to change? * Interviewee: Maybe yes, they need to be fixed and straightened out for better and for self development.Well, I’m still reflecting and figuring it out.As David’s Psalm says, ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting‘.
+ Interviewer: Does that sensitive, private and maybe individual-specific part for some men needs to change? * Interviewee: I don’t know and I’m not certain yet. It may needs to (completely or partially to some degree) change or it may be the subject that needs to be replaced. The only thing that not change is the change itself, I guess.
+ Interviewer: Do you expect this kind of the ‘situation’ and the ‘story’? * Interviewee: No, not really.Don’t get me wrong, but any other option might be better than the ‘situation’ and the ‘story’.
+ Interviewer: Could you accept the ‘situation’ and the ‘story’ within your tolerable scale? * Interviewee: Not really. In fact, I don’t ever want this, I don’t need it from ihr and I don’t want to know as well as I don’t even give any concern to issue related to the topic of the ‘story’.I have never imagined nor expected something like this and I find no comfort and instead feel annoyed every time sie rises this issue up.Nevertheless, what I’m not certain at is the one that keep questioning, ‘is it my mere ego that needs to be eliminated or is it normal so that I just have to follow and to do what I always desire?’. Hopefully there will be figured out right away as I continue the journey to discover it.
+ Interviewer: Then, why don’t you leave? * Interviewee: I don’t know, I’m just trying despite of the complexity. Perhaps it’s complicated to answer your question, but I try to tell you some explanation that I can give as for now. First, to some extent, gratefully, I must admit that there are some good and acceptable things which I received from it. Second, I want to undergo this exploration and journey with ihr since there is always space for hopeful and better days ahead – never underestimate any odds. In spite of the risks, maybe it’s worth to give some effort to hold on for a while, wait and see. Third, I’m not sure yet but I have the courage needed to keep calm and carry on. This reminds me of the famous quotes by Nietzsche saying that ‘to live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering’. Maybe, am I a masochist who find and get some pleasure from pain? Don’t get too serious, otherwise you’ll lose joyful of the moment *laugh*. Anyway, let me play this song for a moment.
hope. 