Dr.

Rita Karmakar

Self-awareness is the capacity for

introspection and the ability to recognize
oneself as an individual separate from the
environment and other individuals.

To build your self-confidence, it is essential to

improve and understand ourselves, especially our
feelings, our inherent weaknesses and our latent
capabilities i.e. self-awareness.
Goleman (1996) argued that self-confidence comes
from within. The more you know yourself, the more
you understand yourself, the more you will become
self confident. It will also develop your personal drive
for improvement and further development. c

Johari window is a frame work of two

famous psychologists JOSEPH LUFT
AND HARRY INGHAM in 1950s and
the word JOHARI is derived by their
first name. The Johari window is a
simple tool for making sense of who we
are

Whatyouseeinme

WhatIseeinme

The Open Self

WhatIdonotseeinme

The Blind Self

Whatyoudonotseein
me

The Private (or

hidden) Self

The Unknown Self

What is known by the person about him/herself

and is also known by others - open area,
open self, free area, free self, or 'the arena'.
What is unknown by the person about
him/herself but which others know - blind area,
blind self, or 'blind spot'.
What the person knows about him/herself that
others do not know - hidden area, hidden self,
avoided area, avoided self or 'facade'.
What is unknown by the person about
him/herself and is also unknown by others
unknown area or unknown self.

Four personas
Associated with the Johari Window, we can define four different personas,
based on which 'self' is the largest for each individual.

Rogers (1961) defined self-acceptance as unconditional positive regard for

oneself, including ones experiences, thoughts, feelings, and very being.
According to Shepard (1979), self-acceptance is an individual's satisfaction or
happiness with himself, Self acceptance involves self-understanding and
awareness of ones strengths and weaknesses.
High self-acceptance is characterized by having a positive attitude toward
oneself, acknowledging and accepting multiple aspects of self (both the
positive and the negative), and being positive about past (Ryff, 1989). Low
self-acceptance is characterized by feeling dissatisfied with oneself and
disappointed with past
There are important aspects of self acceptance
1. Self-acceptance is acceptance of self in spite of deficiencies
2. Self-acceptance is thought to be necessary for good mental
health
3. Self-acceptance is considered the catalyst for positive changes
in our lives

1.Having deeper, more meaningful

relationships
2.Developing a sense of purpose
3.Accepting ones own limitations
4.Increasing your sense of satisfaction,
peace
5.Developing a holistic purpose in life

Self-acceptance implies accepting own strengths as well as

weaknesses unconditionally. Most of us dwell consistently on
our limitations which diminish our self-esteem and selfconfidence and thereby affect our self-acceptance.
Self-awareness is the ability to know and understand
ourselves, especially our feelings, our inherent weaknesses
and our latent capabilities where we need to improve or
change. Through awareness we can effectively carry out our
personal development.
Self-realization helps in understanding ones own efforts,
potentialities and overcoming personal weaknesses. It
involves rational and impartial observation of your own
emotional and mental states and identifying the possibilities of
personal development.

Relationship among three concepts:

1. Lower levels of self-realization and self-acceptance affect self-awareness
because there exists relationship between self-awareness, realization and selfacceptance.
2. When self-acceptance exists, it is easier for the person to become selfaware.
3. To become more self-accepting, people need to increase their selfawareness.
4. Increasing your self-awareness means acknowledging and experiencing your
emotions, as well as intellectually understanding yourself.
Some research findings also reveal the relationship among all these concepts.
These are as follows:
a. Rogers (1961) proposed that self-acceptance makes self-awareness
more possible.
b. Self acceptance and awareness are responsible for high quality
interpersonal relationships (Vingoe, 1967).
c. Self-awareness allows for one to become more self-accepting. On the
other hand, self acceptance is an aspect of self realization (Ryff and
Keyes, 1995).

Self-realization is defined as the fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's

character or personality.
The three dimensions of self-realization are personal dimension, individual
dimension and universal dimension