Self-concept is a manifestation idea that has gone viral on social media the last few years. The idea behind the trend is that changing the way you see yourself can change your life. Here’s everything you need to know to apply self-concept work to manifesting the life you want in five steps.
What is Self-Concept?
Self-concept is the image or perception you have of yourself. It is what you believe to be true about you. It’s an idea that is discussed in both psychology and manifestation teachings.
Self-concept and its connection to manifesting was discussed heavily by New Thought spirituality author Neville Goddard. He taught that your beliefs create your reality, and that once you change your conception of yourself, others will reflect this change back to you by treating you differently.
What is Self-Concept Work?
Self-concept work is a practice that involves changing your self-image and watching for external evidence that confirms the change. For example, you could work on believing that you are a person who is attractive and then look for signs that people now see you this way. You might notice that people smile at you, give you compliments, or stare at you wherever you go.
While self-concept work sounds simple (and fun!), the tricky part is truly believing in a new self-concept. Neville’s answer to this problem is to assume that your new self-concept is true. He called this the law of assumption. It basically means that you assume your new self-concept is true and act as though it’s a fact. It’s very similar to the manifestation idea of acting as if, which is a practice that involves acting as if you manifested what you want and are now your ideal future self.
If self-concept work is starting to sound like more effort than you bargained for, don’t get discouraged! Transforming how you see yourself can be done in a step-by-step way that produces results without the overwhelm of trying to maintain constant positive thoughts about yourself. Here are 5 steps to changing your self-concept so you can finally manifest the life you want.
5 Steps to Changing Your Self-Concept
1. Become Aware of Your Current Self-Concept
Just start by noticing your self-talk and any beliefs you have about yourself. You might notice patterns in how others treat you and consider whether it’s connected to the way you see yourself. Bring as much self-compassion as you can to this first step because we all have parts of our self-concept we’d like to change. After all, these aspects of our self-concept are often based on fears and limiting beliefs we’ve been carrying from painful past experiences.
2. Treat Yourself Well and Watch Others Do the Same
It will be easier to adopt a new self-concept and see others respond differently to you if you start to treat yourself better. This means practicing self-acceptance, self-care, and self-kindness. It could also mean glowing up and/or going on a healing journey. Better yet, it could include all forms of self-love. After all, when we neglect or abandon ourselves, we often get the opposite treatment than we expect. Rather than appreciating our self-sacrifice or hard work, others often see it as permission to put in low effort. They mirror our internal experience and begin to neglect us as well. The harsh truth is that when we overinvest in others, they see themselves as valuable. When we invest in ourselves, they see us as valuable. Therefore, it’s vital to focus on self-care (which includes healthy boundaries) if you want to create a foundation for a stronger self-concept and healthier relationships. (The one caveat to this step involves abusive relationships; please seek professional support if you’re trying to leave an abusive situation.)
3. Choose a Positive New Self-Concept
Choose one new belief that reflects how you want to see yourself from now on. Try to pick something that’s important to you and use words to describe it that resonate and support your well-being. For example, maybe you can choose to see yourself as: a thriving parent, a healthy partner, a magnetic leader, or a successful entrepreneur. Get creative and don’t stop until you find the right words to describe a self-concept you would love to embody.
4. Fall in Love With Your New Self-Concept
Really marinate in your new self-concept. What would you be doing if that was your life? Fantasize about it, visualize it, create a vision board to see it in front of you. As you do, you might start to see a new vision of yourself emerge. For example, you might begin to see yourself in the following way: I’m having the time of my life as a successful entrepreneur; I work on exciting projects, have a reliable and talented team, take my family on dream vacations, go on fun shopping sprees, and live in a clean mansion. By getting excited about your new self-concept, your feelings can give you the confidence to make it a reality. Neville is known for teaching that “feeling is the secret” to manifesting. Find the feeling you’d have if your wish were fulfilled and linger in that state until it becomes a familiar habit. This requires being a little delulu and ignoring your current reality since it’s just a reflection of your old self-concept. Be patient and allow your reality to rearrange itself and catch up to your new self-concept.
5. Make Your Self-Concept Bigger
This might sound counterintuitive, but when you have doubts about attaining your new self-concept, think bigger. Notice when you feel small and unworthy, and see this as a younger part of you that needs your compassion and reassurance. Give it your support and focus on embodying the more expansive, divine, or adult version of yourself. See this expansive version of yourself as whole, powerful, and abundant. Another way to make your self-concept bigger is to see your energy as bigger. Rather than shrinking, make your energetic field bigger in your mind. You can even try embodying “bigger” body language. Stand up straight, pull your shoulders, walk tall, and take up space. Lastly, rather than shrinking what you want, go bigger. This will trick your mind into thinking that your original idea is easier to attain. For example, rather than seeing yourself as a homeowner, see yourself as someone who owns a house and a summer house.
Once you complete these five steps, you’re ready to go from thinking about your new self-concept to living it. Live the life of your wish fulfilled. Take small, wise actions that tell your mind and body that this is your new reality. And, in the future, be mindful of what you accept as true about yourself.
Further Reading
Your beliefs create your reality, but it’s not always easy to uncover and heal beliefs that come from deep emotional wounds. Upleveling your life in a big way usually involves some type of healing. My book, Heal Your Past to Manifest Your Future, gives you step-by-step tools to transform your self-concept and manifest more successfully. By learning how to regulate your nervous system, reparent your inner child, and rewire your brain to open to new possibilities, you become the version of yourself that can have the life you desire. Once you see what’s possible, your life will never be the same!
Your turn: Do you have any questions about how to change your self-concept?
