Who am I? What makes me who I am? What makes me act the way I act? What is my personality really like? These are just a few of the questions that I will attempt to answer in this essay. These questions are very complex and cannot be answered in exact terms. However I will use the personality theories of Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow to answer these questions and many more as accurately as possible.
Sigmund Freud would say the unconscious level of my mind contains the desires, wishes, needs, and impulses that we are not aware of under normal circumstances. He would say that my mind is composed of three systems- the id, ego, and superego. The id operates on the pleasure principle. The ego operates on the reality principle. The superego refers to the moral aspects of personality. These three systems fight for control. In my opinion I feel that my ego is winning this fight, with my id in a close second. My id demands pleasure at all costs. However my ego knows that I must obtain this pleasure appropriately or I will land myself in big trouble. I think my superego is really losing this battle. I make choices that for the most part obtain pleasure but do not get me in big trouble. However I rarely if ever make decisions based on moral principles. Even though I usually make choices with the help of my superego; I have been known to make some silly choices under the direction of my id. For example, too often I put my own feelings ahead of the needs of others. I am often late when I have promised someone I will show up a certain time. This is usually because there was a good baseball or hockey game on television or I was playing tennis. This is putting my own feelings ahead of those of others. Sigmund Freud's theory also explains why I am a an impulsive person. I often take risks without even thinking about them and make bad choices before I have thought out the consequences.
