Self Development

1. LESSON 1: Knowing Oneself – Strengths and Limitations
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT

2. As an individual, we commonly see other people’s
manner of doing things, belief, and lifestyle. Most of the
time, we give comments and/or judgment on how they
behave and react in certain scenarios. However, it is
observed that most people find it hard to make good
and sound evaluation towards their own behavior,
traits, and personality.

3. Self-Development
As an adolescent, it is undeniable that during this
year, you find it most important to know yourselves
deeper. You most of the time find yourself asking
‘what do you really want’ or ‘why do you really like
doing these things or being with these people’.

4. Self-development is a process of discovering oneself by
realizing one's potentials and capabilities that are shaped
over time either by studying in a formal school or through
environmental factors.
On the other hand, examining yourself, most specifically how
you react on things, your belief, traits, and values is one of
the most complicated things to do in the world. You must
understand, though, that it is not that simple. In fact, it
follows a process.

5. Know Thyself
“An unexamined life is not worth living”, this is one of the
famous lines once uttered by one of the greatest
philosophers of Ancient Greek, Socrates.
Know Thyself is an old maxim or aphorism which in time has
been used in varied literature and consequently gained
different meanings. One of its meanings is recorded in the
Greek encyclopedia of knowledge called “The Suda”.

6. Thomas Hobbes also discussed his own views about the
maxim from which he used the phrase “read thyself” in his
famous work The Leviathan. He stressed that an individual
could learn more by studying others and that he/she can do
this by engaging himself/herself to reading books. However,
Hobbes emphasized that a person learns more by studying
oneself.

7. Self-Concept
Self-concept is ones abstract and general idea about
him/herself particularly toward his/her unique personality
and his/her own perception about his/her set of values,
point of views and behavior.

8. Self-concept is learned. This explains that no individual is born with self-
concept. A person will soon develop this as he/she grows old.
Self-concept is organized. This stresses out that one’s perception towards
himself/herself is firm. This means that a person may hear other people’s
point of view regarding himself/herself but will keep on believing that what
he/she thinks of himself/herself is always the right one.
Self-concept is dynamic. As an individual grows older, he/she continues to
encounter problems or challenges that may reveal his/her self-concept in
that particular time or situation.

9. Aside from the philosophers above, Sigmund Freud
who is a well-known psychologist, neurologist and
the creator of Psychoanalysis Theory and the father
of psychoanalysis, proposed that there are three
components of personality within us: the Id, Ego
and Superego that certainly play a vital role of how
we think of ourselves.

10. The Id. Freud explained that man's personality is
driven by pleasure principle. This means that the
nature of Id is to satisfy man's desire without
thinking much of the situation. This nature is being
developed at a young age or present from birth.

11. The Ego. This is the second component of the personality
that is developed at approximately the age of three. This
operates according to reality which makes it possible for the
Id to work in a more proper and satisfactory ways. The ego
will give a more socially accepted means of getting the
desires and wants of a person without getting to hurt other’s
feelings.

12. The Superego. Freud believed that this aspect of man begins
to manifest as a child turns 5. This is the last component of
personality which holds our moral judgments or concept of
right and wrong that are believed to be acquired from the
family and the environment.

13. Lesson 2 : Knowing Oneself – Characteristics, Habits, and Experiences
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT

14. As an individual, we commonly observe, and
undeniably, judge other people’s manners, beliefs,
and lifestyle. However, it can be perceived, though,
that most people find it hard to make good and
sound evaluation toward their own behavior, traits,
and personality.

15. Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is your evaluation of your own worth. It may be
positive or negative. Positive self-esteem is the valuation
that is pleasing and acceptable according to your standard
and that of others, while negative self-esteem is the
opposite which is feeling distraught or down and unaccepted
by others.

16. Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is not considered as a trait. “[It] does not refer
to your abilities but rather to your beliefs about what you
can do with your abilities” (Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998). It is
your will to produce an effect on a specific thing. It is your
self-belief to effectively achieve your most important goal.
The stronger the belief, the bigger the possibility to achieve
a positive result.

17. Maddux and Kleiman (2000) define and explain the five (5) different ways that
influenced self-efficacy beliefs from the ideas of Albert Badura, a professor and a
psychologist.
(a) Performance Experiences
(b) Vicarious Performances
(c) Verbal Persuasion
(d) Imaginal Performances
(e) The Affective States & Physical Sensations

18. Self and Identity
Have you tried to talk to yourself in front of the mirror?
What did you see? According to William James, a
psychologist, “the self is what happens when I reflect upon
ME".

19. Dan McAdam, a psychologist, reiterated that even there are
many ways on how we reflect to improve ourselves, it brings
us back to these three (3) categories:
1. Self as Social Actor
2. Self as Motivated Agent
3. Self as Autobiographical Author

20. Judgment and Decision Making
As an individual, you are expected to act and decide on your
own. Most people tend to decide based on the intuitions
and available information that could be a hindrance in
making a wise decision. It can be a habit, when our decision
is always based on what is available or gathered data. There
could be a “missing link”.

21. Steps on How to Make a Rational Decision:
1. Define the Problem (select your most desired course);
2. Identify the criteria necessary to judge the multiple
options (list things to be considered like location,
facilities, prestige, etc.);
3. Weight the criteria (rank the criteria based on its
importance to you);
4. Generate alternatives (the schools that accepted you);
5. Rate each alternative on each criterion (rate each school
on the criteria you have identified); and
6. Compute the optimal decision

22. Lesson 3 Developing the Whole Person
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT

23. Developing oneself holistically may be the goal of everyone.
However, there are times that we lack awareness of our
doings and actions that leads to misunderstanding with
others especially our parents. This can also potentially lead
to self-harm. To know oneself is also quite challenging.

24. Every individual undergoes different phases of development
that form his/her individuality. Our personality is a product
of genetic response that we inherit from our parents and
from the influence of our environment. This environment
shaped by the people around us, culture, and practices that
we are being raised in continuously creates social
interactions and relationships.

25. As a child, you are dream of a good and satisfying life when
you grow up. Your family becomes your helping hand in
nurturing, guiding, and educating yourself. When you reach
adolescence, you experience drastic changes in your physical
appearance, cognitive abilities, social relationship, and
emotional behavior.

26. According to Erik Erikson, adolescence stage of
psychosocial development, also known as “identity
vs. role confusion” is the stage wherein teens need
to develop the sense of self and personal identity.

27. Teenagers also experience adolescence cognitive
empathy, known as “theory of mind,” which is
described as having high regards toward the
perspective of others and feeling concern for
others.

28. Being adolescents, they tend to foster social cooperation
that prevents problems and leads to avoidance of conflicts
with peers. Teenagers are very careful in understanding the
emotions of their friends as they start to create deep trust
with them. Sometimes, this leads to misunderstanding with
their family, abuse of prohibited drugs, pre-marital sex,
cigarette smoking and alcohol intake.

30. Lesson 4 Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors in Actual Life
Situations
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT