We have more faith in what we imitate than in what we originate - Bruce Lee
Self actualization
Self actualization - the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone.
Characteristics of Self Actualized People
- Self accepting
- Enjoy solitude and privacy
- Autonomous
- Open and spontaneous
- Realistic
- Responsible
- Enjoy the journey, and not just the destination
Self-Image actualization
Bruce Lee adds:
Many people dedicate their lives to actualizing a concept of what they should be like, rather than actualizing themselves. This difference between self-actualizing and self-image actualizing is very important. Most people only live for their image.
Where some people have a self, most people have a void, because they are so busy projecting themselves as this or that. This again is the curse of the ideal. The curse is that you should not be what you are. Every external control, even internalized external control - "you should" - interferes with the healthy working of the organism. There is only one thing that should control the situation. If you understand the situation that you are in, and let the situation that you are in control your actions, then you learn how to cope with life.
Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state of congruence. This means that self-actualization occurs when a person's “ideal self” (i.e., who they would like to be) is congruent with their actual behavior (self-image).