Barriers Self-concept is one of my barriers that initially stands out the most when I think about what really shapes my decisions. Since childhood I’ve always been critiqued by my parents which lead me to be overly critical of my actions. When I’m doing things right and getting praised by others I feel joyous and motivated to continue on with my work, on the other hand if I make a mistake or fail at something I’m very hard on myself. This has led to self-esteem issues, loss of interest in certain things and generally become a huge problem. After seeking help I started looking at the big picture and realized that it’s necessary to make mistakes in almost all aspects of life and I will learn from them. My barrier of self-concept is still alive and well but I’ve been making strides to counteract. An additional barrier I’ve discovered falls under ego defenses and that is rationalization. I tend to look for the good in bad situations and attempt to rationalize why it happened. Possibly because of my upbringing and being partially sheltered from the harsh realities of the world my first thoughts when something bad happens is to shy away from acknowledging the bad and try to make light of the situation. I strongly believe this is a built in mechanism that my brain uses to shield itself from the reality of the world. There are many other situations such as buying myself a four hundred dollar gaming system because I really need it, instead of spending the money on something actually useful. My plan to overcome this barrier is somewhat in place already by being in the military, I’m exposed more frequently to things I was sheltered from in the past which helps me understand and actually cope. In the other situation such as buying expensive
