In my opinion, depending on the language you are speaking in, the word self-consciousness is often used incorrectly or misunderstood in our everyday language. In German, for example, one commonly and frequently uses the word self-consciousness (which comes with a distinctive difference in the English language) to describe a person who appears to have high self-esteem. However, I believe that this is wrong.
When we analyze various languages, as in the English language, there is a distinct difference between self-confidence and self-consciousness, but in the German language for example, these two terms are practically translated into one word, which then leads to societal changes in how these two separate terms are interpreted and valued. In the English language, self-consciousness seems to be associated many a times with a lack of self-esteem, when one is insecure. When in fact, to be self-conscious should mean that one posses a certain recognition of one’s skills, possibilities, values, talents and even shortcomings and unconscious reactions. To be self-conscious it takes a certain amount of one’s own self, so that you can work on changing, improving or accepting these aspects about one’s self. You can then also understand your reactions to certain situations better and become more understanding of yourself and can optimize from there. This self-consciousness helps you build a healthy self-confidence.
We will be diving deeper into this in the next article. Stay tuned on this blog for more thought-provoking content.
Praxis für Hypnosetherapie 