QUARTER 1,LESSON 1(PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT)

SELF-CONCEPT

Imagine yourself looking into a mirror. What do you see? Do you see your ideal self or your actual self? 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.

BUILD ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES

Most failures emanate from weaknesses that are not recognized or probably recognized but not given
appropriate attention or remedy. This could be a weakness in communications, personality or ability. Instead of giving
up or indulging in self-pity, take action. Go for speech lessons, get skills upgrading, attend personality development
sessions or whatever appropriate remedies to your perceived weakness.
Instead of simply focusing on your weaknesses, recognize your own talents and abilities, build on them, utilize them to
your greatest advantage. This is where you can build your name and popularity. Handicapped people like Jose Feliciano
and other blind singers did not brood over their physical handicap. They recognized that they have a golden voice so
they search for ways to enrich that talent and now they have won international fame in the field of music.

YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE

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 go y?
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?
By the way, the Producer of the movie is God. He tells you, “Make the movie beautiful, and I will give you all that you
need for success.”

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 your way of loving yourself. You will not be judged by your writing.

You may use these questions as you write in your journal:

1. How do you find this day? What are the positive things that happened? What are those things that made you irritated
or upset?
2. As you reflect the ups and downs of your day, what may be the greatest lesson you can learn from them? What
actions have you done well and what actions you can do better?
3. What do you really want in life? What do you want to achieve for yourself, your family, your community, and your
country?
4. As you close the day, what are the small and big things you are thankful of? Who are the people that made your day
extra special?