MODULE 1 Personal Development

MODULE 1:
KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING ONESELF DURING MIDDLE AND LATE

ADOLESCENCE
SELF-CONCEPT
Your ideal self is the self that you aspire to be. It is the one that you hope will possess
characteristics similar to that of a mentor or some other worldly figure. Your actual self,
however, is the one that you actually see. It is the self that has characteristics that you were
nurtured or, in some cases, born to have.
The actual self and the ideal self are two broad categories of self-concept. Self-concept
refers to your awareness of yourself. It is the construct that negotiates these two selves. In other
words, it connotes first the identification of the ideal self as
separate from others, and second, it encompasses all the behaviors evaluated in the actual self
that you engage in to reach the ideal self.
The actual self is built on self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is derived from social

interactions that provide insight into how others react to you. The actual self is who we actually
are. It is how we think, how we feel, look, and act. The actual self can be seen by others, but
because we have no way of truly knowing how others view us, the actual self is our self-image.
The ideal self, on the other hand, is how we want to be. It is an idealized image that we
have developed over time, based on what we have learned and experienced. The ideal self
could include components of what our parents have taught us, what we admire in others, what
our society promotes, and what we think is in our best interest.
There is negotiation that exists between the two selves which is complex because there
are numerous exchanges between the ideal and actual self. These
exchanges are exemplified in social roles that are adjusted and re-adjusted, and are derived
from outcomes of social interactions from infant to adult development.
Alignment is important. If the way that I am (the actual self) is aligned with the way that I
want to be (the ideal self), then I will feel a sense of mental well-being or peace of mind. If the
way that I am is not aligned with how I want to be, the incongruence,
or lack of alignment, will result in mental distress or anxiety. The greater the level of
incongruence between the ideal self and real self, the greater the level of resulting distress.
Personal development modules ultimate aim is greater self-knowledge that
will lead to higher alignment between these two personality domains.
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Personal effectiveness means making use of all the personal resources – talents, skills,
energy and time, to enable you to achieve life goals. Your
knowledge of yourself and how you manage yourself impacts directly on your personal
effectiveness. Being self-aware, making the most of your strengths,
learning new skills and techniques and behavioral flexibility are all keys to improving
your personal performance.
Our personal effectiveness depends on our innate characteristics – talent and experience
accumulated in the process of personal development.
Talents first are needed to be identified and then developed to be used in a particular subject
area (science, literature, sports, politics, etc.).
Experience includes knowledge and skills that we acquire in the process of cognitive and
practical activities.
Knowledge is required for setting goals, defining an action plan to achieve them and risk
assessment. Skills also determine whether real actions are performed in accordance with the
plan. If the same ability is used many times in the same situation, then it becomes a habit that
runs automatically,
subconsciously.
Here are some skills that will greatly increase the efficiency of any person who owns them:
1. Determination. It allows you to focus only on achieving a specific goal without being
distracted by less important things or spontaneous desires. It
may be developed with the help of self-discipline exercise.
2. Self-confidence. It appears in the process of personal development, as a result of getting

aware of yourself, your actions and their consequences. Self
confidence is manifested in speech, appearance, dressing, gait, and physical condition. To
develop it, you need to learn yourself and your capabilities, gain
positive attitude and believe that by performing right actions and achieving right goals you will
certainly reach success.
3. Persistence. It makes you keep moving forward regardless of emerging obstacles –
problems, laziness, bad emotional state, etc. It reduces the costs of overcoming obstacles. It
can also be developed with the help of self discipline exercise.
4. Managing stress. It helps combat stress that arises in daily life from the environment and
other people. Stress arises from the uncertainty in an
unknown situation when a lack of information creates the risk of negative consequences of your
actions. It increases efficiency in the actively changing
environment.
5. Problem-solving skills. They help cope with the problems encountered with a lack of
experience. It increases efficiency by adopting new ways of
achieving goals when obtaining a new experience.
6. Creativity. It allows you to find extraordinary ways to carry out a specific action that no one
has tried to use. It can lead to a decrease or an increase of costs, but usually the speed of
action is greatly increased when using creative tools.
7. Generating ideas. It helps you achieve goals using new, original, unconventional ideas. Idea
is a mental image of an object formed by the human mind, which can be changed before being
implemented in the real world. For generating ideas you can use a method of mental maps,
which allows you to materialize, visualize and scrutinize all your ideas, which in turn contributes
to the emergence of new ideas. These are just some, but the most important personal
effectiveness skills which make the achievement of any goal easier and less costly.
Story: YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE by Bo Sanchez

There are three kinds of people in this world:
The first is the Moviegoer. This person watches the movie of their lives, admires some parts
and criticizes others. Aside from that, they do nothing else. All
she says the whole day is, “I like this thing and but I don’t like that thing.” The Moviegoer feels
she has absolutely no control of their lives --- except to comment about it. Moviegoers are the
most pathetic, miserable people in the world.
The second is the Actor. This person does not only watch the movie of her life. She
actually realizes she’s the Actor – and can control a big part of her life. She can actually make
or break the movie – by how well she delivers her lines and how she portrays her character.
Actors are a happy bunch, realizing they’re the start of the show and enjoy some level of
control. But many times, they wish the movie would end in another way – but realize that they
have no say in such things.
The third is the Scriptwriter. This person does not only watch, and she doesn’t only act, but
she actually creates the entire movie from her mind. She determines what she will say, what
she will do, and how the movie will end. She realizes she has enormous control over her life,
and sees to it that the movie of her life will turn out beautiful. Who are you among these three
people? Do you merely watch your life goes by? Or do you act out a script that you feel has
been handed to you? Or do you write the script and make your life beautiful?
Reading: THE POWER OF JOURNAL WRITING: UNFOLDING YOUR

PERSONAL JOURNEY
The purpose of journal writing is to help you become the Scriptwriter of your life. There are four
(4) practical reasons to maintain a journal:
1. It is cost-efficient and available. Emotional stress can be dealt in many ways like talking to
a friend over a cup of coffee, eating, travelling, shopping, painting and many more but writing is
the most inexpensive. Notebook and pens are easy to find, available and do not cost so much.
2. It is preventive and pro-active. Writing yields self-awareness. When you write, you can
discover your strengths and limitations. You will know what your reactions are in different
situations and what better ways to prevent, avoid, or face your fears.
3. It is creative and productive. Journal writing expounds your imagination. You can see
various dimensions of your problem, different points of view and better solutions.
4. Lastly, it is personal and private. Unless you want to share your stories, you have the
choice to keep them to yourself. Writing is your time alone. It is my way of loving yourself. You
will not be judged by your writing.

MODULE 1 Personal Development

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MODULE 1 Personal Development

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MODULE 1:

KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING ONESELF DURING MIDDLE AND LATE

The actual self is built on self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is derived from social

2. Self-confidence. It appears in the process of personal development, as a result of getting

Story: YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE by Bo Sanchez

Reading: THE POWER OF JOURNAL WRITING: UNFOLDING YOUR

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