"Meaning is rooted in language. Words spoken to us by others often define how we feel about ourselves." Symbolic Interactionism
Learning about symbolic interaction reminded me of how crucial it is to watch what I say. It illustrates Proverbs 18:2, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." I stopped to think of how people have formed my self-opinion, and I saw how much I have influenced others. My sister who laughs at my jokes makes me feel clever, and grumpy cashiers leave me feeling like I am inadvertently rude.
I'll use my fiance as an example. The picture above is one he edited and posted on an art site, describing how he felt his true self. Underneath he feels like the hero Link, and outwardly he acts like him. Link is the main character in the video game series the Legend of Zelda. He is brave and smart, but he never talks.
People have influence both my fiance's inner and outer-selves. Friends online who sought his advice made him feel important and successful, while class mates who passed him by made him feel useless and broken. I can relate. On a deeper level, close relationships, including my relationship with him, have given him both positive and negative input. I love my fiance's creativity and openness in that picture, and this theory reminded me that I want to work on reinforcing his hero side and avoid furthering his "zero" side.
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