Journal Entry # 5: REAL SELF VS. IDEAL SELF

 Upon reflecting on the idea of the real self and the ideal self by Carl Rogers, I have come up with these comparisons of my real self to my ideal self. I used Venn Diagrams for these.

A Short Reflection

Upon seeing these comparisons of my real and ideal self, I have come to realize that it is indeed perfectly fine to have an ideal self, just like what Rogers said, in contrast to that of Horney. For me, it serves as a motivation to try to reach the goals of the ideal self while still acknowledging the real self as still present. These two should co-occur in order for me to be a psychologically healthy person. 

I still acknowledge the fact that some of these aspects of my real self is unchangeable, like my physical characteristics which I consider a gift from God. But the rest, like talents, achievements, career, and social life all have rooms for change and improvement. This further clarifies the essence of the real and ideal self -  that these two should overlap in order to avoid rising difficulties and problems.