Our self-perceptions are often instilled in us before we have a say in them. Learning to change how we see ourselves helps us find our hidden strengths, or improve weaknesses we didn't know we had, to get along better in life.
Accurate self-perception is a necessary component of self-improvement. If you don't know where your strengths or weaknesses lie, you don't know what areas you need to work on. Or how to leverage your assets! Self-perception is simply being aware of who you are, what you're like, and what you're capable of. Your self-perception goes beyond positive self-esteem, though. It may involve acknowledging your shortcomings ("I suck at playing the violin, and that's okay"), adjusting how you view your skills, ("This skill I thought was boring is actually useful and neat!"), or recognizing your problem areas ("I'm not as hard working as I like to think").
