How you see yourself begins with a combination of all of the qualities and attributes of other people that you most admire. Your 'self-ideal' is a description of the person you would very much like to be, if you could embody the qualities that you most aspire to.
In fact, everything that you do on a day-to-day basis is affected by your comparing your activities with these ideal qualities. Not only that, you constantly strive to behave consistently with them.
Successful people are usually very clear about being excellent in every part of their lives. Unsuccessful people frequently have fuzzy ideals.
When you set higher and more challenging goals, your self-ideal improves and crystallises. When you set goals for the kind of person you want to be and the kind of life you want to live, your self-ideal rises and becomes a greater guiding and motivating force in your life.
Improvements in your self-ideal begin in your imagination where there are no limits except the ones that you create and accept. Be careful of the limits you set for yourself. Are they in your best interest? Could you stretch those limits?
Do you have a vision of the very best person you could possibly become? How would you behave each day if you already were that person?
Make a picture in your mind of how you would look and stand, how you would appear to other people? Make that picture as bright and colourful as you can. Hear what you hear, see what you see, feel what you feel. Make it brighter and step into that picture. Add smells and textures if you can. Really be the person you are envisioning.
There are more things you can do immediately to put your ideas into action.
Dream big dreams. Set big, exciting, challenging goals for yourself. Allow yourself to imagine a wonderful life ahead. Step outside of your comfort zone. Make sure the goals you set are achievable by you, or you will become very disappointed if you fail to achieve them.
Think about how you would act if you were an outstanding person in every way. Create that picture in your mind. Then, practice being this person. You will immediately notice a difference in your behaviour. Not only that, other people will notice too.