"Our self image, strongly held, essentially determines what we become"
About this Quote
The line points to self image as a kind of internal blueprint that steers behavior, perception, and ultimately outcomes. People tend to act in ways that are consistent with how they see themselves; identity precedes action. Call yourself a runner, and you are more likely to lace up when it rains. See yourself as unlucky or unworthy, and opportunities look like traps or mirages. A strongly held self image functions like a psychological set point, quietly correcting course toward what feels congruent.
Maxwell Maltz came to this insight as a plastic surgeon who noticed that surgical changes did not always change lives. Some patients blossomed when a visible flaw was altered, but others, despite transformed faces, stayed trapped in the same social timidity or self doubt. Maltz concluded that the mind runs on a cybernetic, goal seeking system guided by the picture we hold of ourselves. If that picture remains negative or small, no cosmetic or external shift can compensate for the inner map. His book Psycho Cybernetics (1960) popularized mental rehearsal and imagery as tools for reshaping that map.
Modern psychology echoes parts of this view: self efficacy, mindset, and expectancy effects show how beliefs shape motivation, attention, and persistence. Strong beliefs filter evidence through confirmation bias. They also generate self fulfilling prophecies, where behavior evokes the outcomes the belief predicted.
Strongly held is a double edged phrase. The more rigid the self image, the more powerful its steering force, for good or ill. The task is not to cling to fantasies but to build a clear, accurate, and aspirational identity that is tested by behavior. Visualization, small wins, corrective experiences, and keeping a record of disconfirming evidence can revise an inherited self portrait.
None of this cancels real constraints. Circumstances matter. But within those boundaries, identity powerfully shapes interpretation, effort, and resilience. Change who you believe you are, and what you do begins to change with it.
Maxwell Maltz came to this insight as a plastic surgeon who noticed that surgical changes did not always change lives. Some patients blossomed when a visible flaw was altered, but others, despite transformed faces, stayed trapped in the same social timidity or self doubt. Maltz concluded that the mind runs on a cybernetic, goal seeking system guided by the picture we hold of ourselves. If that picture remains negative or small, no cosmetic or external shift can compensate for the inner map. His book Psycho Cybernetics (1960) popularized mental rehearsal and imagery as tools for reshaping that map.
Modern psychology echoes parts of this view: self efficacy, mindset, and expectancy effects show how beliefs shape motivation, attention, and persistence. Strong beliefs filter evidence through confirmation bias. They also generate self fulfilling prophecies, where behavior evokes the outcomes the belief predicted.
Strongly held is a double edged phrase. The more rigid the self image, the more powerful its steering force, for good or ill. The task is not to cling to fantasies but to build a clear, accurate, and aspirational identity that is tested by behavior. Visualization, small wins, corrective experiences, and keeping a record of disconfirming evidence can revise an inherited self portrait.
None of this cancels real constraints. Circumstances matter. But within those boundaries, identity powerfully shapes interpretation, effort, and resilience. Change who you believe you are, and what you do begins to change with it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
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