Creating our Self-concept through Behavior

     Christopher Bryan PhD, in "Being by Doing" talks about the pivotal impact of "whether or not we understand & see our behaviors as having implications for our self-concepts. 
     As an example, imagine you're out for a walk and you've just finished enjoying a cold drink. And now you're left with this empty can and you'd like to be rid of it. So do you drop it into the first thrash can you come upon? Or do you hold onto it until you can find a place to recycle it?
     A critical factor in determining what you do is whether you see recycling the can as just another behavior OR as a reflection of the kind of person you are. 
     And we make lots of decisions like this. Do we volunteer to help the poor? Help people out when they need it? Donate to charity? Run a marathon? Or take a stand on an important issue? Do we do the thing we should do - the thing that's good for us or good for society - even though it's hard for us, or entails some sacrifice, or expense? OR do we sit back and opt for ease, comfort & convenience instead? An important reason we sometimes do the hard good thing is that we like the way this makes us see ourselves, makes us feel about ourselves. We like to think of ourselves as charitable, caring people, as good Samaritans,
as people who are mentally & physically strong, and as people who stand up against injustice. 
     I'm arguing that a lot of the things we do, especially the sorts of things that involve some personal sacrifice, that are widely approved of, we do because we want to think of ourselves as the kind of person who does those things. Ultimately the reason for this is that in our culture it's really important for individuals to be worthy, competent, moral, and generally deserving of approval. And our behavior feeds into our self-concepts. What we do shapes how we see ourselves. 
     And so when we see behavior having implications for our self-concepts, this provides a way to manage our self-concepts, to pursue the goal of being a worthy person by behaving in ways that are consistent with that view of ourselves. (Of course not all behavior is viewed as relevant to self-concepts.)

     The self is a constant work-in-progress. We’re continually managing our self-concepts through our behavior, acting in ways that allow us to build up our sense of ourselves as competent & worthy. The psychological process can be channeled to influence socially relevant behavior in a wide range of domains.” 
http://kellymcgonigal.com/2012/07/20/how-to-think-like-a-psychologist/ 

North End homes, Halifax, Nova Scotia