A map for understanding yourself
The Self Model
You hold your past , live from your core , and move toward the self you could become .
Simple
Detailed
EXPERIENCES OVER TIME
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
PAST
what you hold onto
FUTURE
what you move toward
Protective factors
Secure base · earned mastery · role models
Adverse experiences
Trauma · loss · attachment wounds
Hoped-for self
the self you move toward
Feared self
the self you guard against
OUTER WORLD
INNER WORLD
CORE
who you are
Tap the past, the future, or any ring of the self to open what is inside it.
The past you hold
What you still carry, good and hard. Above the line, protective factors (secure base, mentors, mastery); below, adverse experiences (trauma, loss, attachment wounds).
The self, at center
Your Core sits inside your Inner World (beliefs, identity, patterns), inside your Outer World (people, environment, culture).
The future, projected
You move toward a hoped-for self or a feared self. The work is steering, in line with your core, toward the one you choose.
The same model, opened up. Each part holds what is inside it and how you work with it . You work with what you hold, strengthen your core, and steer toward your hoped-for self.
The Past what you hold onto +
What's in it
Protective factors
Secure base & love Role models & mentors Earned mastery & wins Peak, joyful moments Inherited strengths Lessons learned
Adverse experiences
Trauma Attachment wounds Shame Loss Failure Hardship
How you work with it
Therapy & acceptance make peace with what happened so it stops running youShadow work uncover and reclaim what you disownedParts work (IFS) understand why you react the way you do todaySomatic processing release what the body still holdsReframing rewrite the meaning and find the lesson
Outer World always around you · easiest to change +
What's in it
Friendships Relationships Community Profession / work School / education Hobbies & interests Environment Culture & systems
How you work with it
Environment design (Atomic Habits) make the good behavior the easy onePeople audit surround yourself with people who pull you toward your hoped-for selfRoutines & cues engineer your defaults so willpower isn't the plan
Inner World beliefs & identity · changeable with effort +
What's in it
Beliefs Identity & self-worth Patterns (conscious & unconscious) Inner parts Your story Defenses Shadow
How you work with it
Goal setting turn the vision into the next concrete moveManifestation & affirmations rehearse the identity until it feels trueReframing test and rewrite the beliefs that limit youParts work meet the protective and wounded parts insideNarrative rewrite become the author of your story, not its victim
Core the essence · stable, slowest to change +
What's in it
Personality Core values Character traits (good & bad) Innate passions, what lights you up
How you work with it
Values & strengths work name what's truly you, then steer by itAwareness & mindfulness the gate: you can't change what you can't seeRegulation build the steady floor everything else stands on
The Future the selves you could become +
What's in it
Hoped-for self
Vision Dreams & desires Goals Purpose & meaning Growth Hope & agency
Feared self
Fears Dreaded losses Drift Who you become by default
How you steer toward your hoped-for self
Vision & visualization make the future self vivid enough to pull youGoals & if-then plans build the bridge from here to thereManifestation & affirmations hold the identity steadily in viewHope-building grow your agency and map many routes forwardAlignment check is this future true to my core?
Change is the way. Work with what you hold from the past, strengthen your core, and steer toward the self you choose to become.