The power of self-image: once a fat kid, always a fat kid?

Are you letting your self-image control you? Are you letting the kid inside you control your adult life?

As I finished my work, I took a peek at the Rock’s latest movie, Central Intelligence. Interestingly enough, this movie is by itself an education of self-image. Let me share with you what I saw.

The Rock in this movie is a CIA agent, who has all the skills at perfection. His fighting skill is second to none. His intelligence is super. Yet, in high school, he was a fat kid who had no friend. He was a subject of ridicule. Anyone could bully him. He was thrown fully naked in front of the school without being able to do anything against it.

Twenty years later, this fat kid became the coolest-looking and best CIA agent. He transformed himself by exercising 6 hours per day for the last 20 years. He shows up as a confident agent. Yet, when he met the guy who bullied him in high school, he lost all the confidence. He was frozen like a dead soul. He could not lift his finger. He could not even open his mouth. He mumbled. All his super fighting skills were of no use to him. The only thing in his mind was the memory of a fat kid being ridiculed in front the entire school. He saw himself as a fat kid in the mirror.

Now, with his super fighting skills, he could have knocked his bully down with a single blown (which he did at the end of the movie). However, his self-image of a fat kid with no confidence controlled him. All the trainings he has gone through did not help him remove his old self-image. He saw no value in himself when he was confronted by his bully.  He only saw a fat kid who could not do anything.

The movie ended with the Rock forgiving his bully. The moment he forgave his bully was the moment the Rock let his old self-image of a fat kid go. He instantly became powerful.

Now, when you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? What do you tell yourself? What memories do you keep in your subconscious mind? What limiting belief do you have about yourself?

Are you seeing yourself as both powerful and useless? If so, you have a self-image problem.

Here are some tips you can use to build a strong and confident self-image:

1. Guard your self-talk.  Be our own cheerleaders and encouragers.

2. Stop comparing yourself to others. The only one you should compare to is yourself. Be a better you than you were yesterday.

3. Move beyond your limiting beliefs. It’s not what you are that hold you back, it’s what you are not.

4. Add value to others. Making a difference in someone else’s life, even if it’s a small thing, can lift one’s self-esteem.

5. Take responsibility for your life.