PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Knowing and Understanding Oneself during Middle and Late Adolescence

Developing the Whole Person

Developmental Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence

The Challenges of Middle and Late Adolescence

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.

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

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.

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.

The self-concept is represented by several aspects of the self. It is conceived as collection of multiple,
context-dependent selves. This construct believes that context activates particular regions of self-
knowledge and self-relevant feedback affects self-evaluations and affect. A deeper look on the different
aspects of self can identify specific areas for self-regulation, stability and improvement.

The human emotions are the most feared aspect of the self, as individuals are reluctant and unprepared
to manage them. Managing feelings is like trying to hold water in the palm of your hand. They are illusive
and deceptive. A decision made under emotional stress and strain usually impacts emotions negatively.
Negative emotions that are not managed are stored and repressed. Repression is destructive to a
content self since all feelings, not only negative ones are stored away. Accessing feelings when they are
needed now becomes difficult, leaving the individual numb and hopeless.

Knowing which wolf to feed is the first step towards recognizing you have control over your own self.
Have you ever had thoughts, feelings or acted in ways that were unacceptable to yourself but felt
powerless to control? The purpose of this story is to help you find ways to manage your mind so that you
can live your life more in accordance with what your own judgment says is best for you. As we grow up,
we gradually become aware of the many things in the external world which are largely beyond our ability
to control. These include other people in general and most events in our lives. Initially this is difficult to
accept, but a more shocking realization is that there are many things about ourselves that we seem
powerless to control. Some of these are our own thoughts, feelings, and actions which unfortunately can
be the source of much distress. It may be thoughts such as “I cannot stop hating my teacher for not
giving me high grades.” It may involve an emotion e.g. “My girlfriend left me and I cannot stop feeling
sad, lonely and unloved.”

Human Development focuses on human growth and changes across the lifespan, including physical,
cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional growth.

Developmental Stage

1. Pre-natal Characteristics (Conception to birth) Age when hereditary endowments and sex are fixed
and all body features, both external and internal are developed.

2. Infancy (Birth to 2 years) Foundation age when basic behavior are organized and many ontogenetic
maturation skills are developed.

3. Early Childhood (2 to 6 years) Pre-gang age, exploratory, and questioning. Language and Elementary
reasoning are acquired and initial socialization is experienced.

4. Late Childhood (6 to 12 years) Gang and creativity age when self-help skills, social skills, school skills,
and play are developed.

5. Adolescence (puberty to 18 years) Transition age from childhood to adulthood when sex maturation
and rapid physical development occur resulting to changes in ways of feeling, thinking and acting.

6. Early Adulthood (18 to 40 years) Age of adjustment to new patterns of life and roles such as spouse,
parent and bread winner.

7. Middle Age (40 years to retirement) Transition age when adjustments to initial physical and mental
decline are experienced.

8. Old Age (Retirement to death) Retirement age when increasingly rapid physical and mental decline are
experienced.

Living mindfully is like being an artist: you need the right tools to practice your craft, and you need to
constantly refine your technique to achieve your creative potential. In the same way, using the present
moment tools below will help you to hone a consistent mindfulness practice that will in time lead to a
more aware, compassionate and fulfilling way of life.

Tool 1: Breathe Mindfully. Use your breath as an anchor to still your mind and bring your focus back to
the present moment.

Tool 2: Listen Deeply. Listen with intention; let others fully express themselves and focus on
understanding how they think and feel.

Tool 3: Cultivate Insight. See life as it is, allowing each experience to be an opportunity for learning.

Tool 4: Practice Compassion. Consider the thoughts and feelings of others and let tenderness, kindness
and empathy be your guides.

Tool 5: Limit Reactivity. Observe rather than be controlled by your emotions. Pause, breathe, and choose
a skillful response based on thoughtful speech and non violence under every condition.
Tool 6: Express Gratitude. Practice gratitude daily and expand it outward, appreciating everyone and
everything you encounter.

Tool 7: Nurture Mutual Respect. Appreciate our common humanity and value different perspectives as
well as your own.

Tool 8: Build Integrity. Cultivate constructive values and consistently act from respect, honesty and
kindness.

Tool 9: Foster Leadership. Engage fully in life and in community. Share your unique talents and generosity
so that others can also be inspired.

Tool 10: Be Peace. Cultivate your own inner peace, becoming an agent for compassionate action and
social good

The Challenges of Middle and Late Adolescence- challenges faced by adolescents during their middle
and late stages, emphasizing the balance between external expectations and personal aspirations. Key
challenges include attitudes and behaviors, academic concerns, and the importance of self-identity and
relationships. It highlights the significance of communication and understanding in developing healthy
connections, while also addressing issues like depression, self-esteem, and the effects of parental
absence.