Introduction to Personal Development

INTRODUCTION something that can guide your personal

development.
• In the life cycle of every person,
adolescence is considered one of the Project Positive Self-Image
most critical development stages due to Parents who impose to their growing children
the profound biological and what to wear, what to do, who should be with
psychological changes that affects the eventually develop a mini-me of their parents.
person. Thus, robs them of developing their own persona
• The adolescent age group includes boys and of knowing who they are. Idolizing celebrities,
and girls from 13-19 years of age. imitating their ways and adopting it as if it’s your
• The multiple changes in their body own persona is very common among your age. At
brought about by maturity led them to a controlled level, idolizing people is harmless but
ask so many questions about them-selves. if it is beyond the limit, it diverts you of
• Adolescents have high desire to belong discovering your true self.
and fear of rejection.
• Adolescence is also the period where they Our self-image is complicated impression we
are pressured to take adult roles. have about our physical appearance, social rules,
and personality traits. The way you look at
yourself is an important factor in the
Know Yourself
development of your personality and in the
Interestingly, there are some who hardly
maintenance of your emotional health.
know themselves and many years of their lives are
wasted because they have not grown to be a
Those with a negative self-image tend to:
better person.
1. Lack self-confidence and self-esteem.
At this point, introducing the concept of
2. Feel insecure, skeptical, and fearful.
self-awareness will surely help.
3. Accept being ignored, hurt, and rejected.
Self-awareness is not about revealing your
4. Feel embarrassed by compliments.
secrets, but rather being conscious and
understanding who you are.
Those with a positive self-image tend to:
The more you pay attention to your emotions
1. Accept themselves and others as they are.
and how you work, the better you will understand
2. Feel secure and confident.
why you do the thing you do and its effect to
3. Take pride of their achievements.
others.
4. Accepts compliments gracefully.
Building Self-Awareness Here are some techniques to help you.
How could one be able to build his self- 1. Believes in yourself.
awareness? Let me tell you that knowing oneself Remember that you are different from others.
through self-awareness is not learned from a You should believe that you are unique person
book but can be achieved by doing honest self- gifted with talent in spite of your limitations. You
reflection. Ask our self and list down your answer are born with talents, skills, and abilities that you
honestly. need to nurture and show off. There is no need to
1. What are your strengths and weakness? compare yourself to others.
What do you value most? What trigger you to be 2. Rediscover yourself
upset? How do you respond under stress? How Know your strengths and build on them. Know
are you as a son/daughter, a sibling, a student, a your weaknesses and correct them. Recognize
best friend, etc.? what’s not working and be willing to change. You
2. Predict how you feel and respond before a are at age where explorations and discoveries are
situation and reflect on your actual feelings and at its height. Do not live a monotonous life. You
response after the situation. are young and full of life. Be creative and try to do
3. What did you learn from your past success something new at all times.
and mistakes?
4. From your immediate family friends, 3. Stand on what you believe is right.
teachers, and classmates ask for feedback on Set your own high personal moral standards ,
your performance and behavior. Feedbacks can live it up to them , never compromise your values
help you identify your behavior you aren’t clearly and morals. It is inevitable that you will be
seeing the blind spots as they say. trapped in a situation which you can’t make
5. Writing your thoughts and experiences decision at once because you are considering the
helps. It allows you to reflect on daily thoughts, negative results. Demonstrate your positive
feelings perceptions, choices, behaviors, and personal values in all you do and speak. Be
interactions with others. Be honest with yourself. sincere and real. You will gain people’s respect in
Reflecting on your experiences allows you to learn due time.
Target Excellence Physical Development
pertains to maturing of the body and its
Give your best effort in whatever you do. systems along with its functions. Puberty, onset of
Remember, yours are different from other adolescence is the process of physical changes in
person’s so never compare because everyone has which a child’s body matures into an adult body
their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s time to capable of sexual reproduction.
be ambitious. Think big. Aim high and grandiose.
If you are strong in certain areas, keep it up and In 1940, William H. Sheldon introduced the
strengthens it more; if you are weak in other areas, concept of body types, or somatotypes which he
get out of your comfort zone and do something to associated with the psychological development of
reduce your weaknesses. man.
Ectomorphic
Success in your endeavors needs a very good Physically they have narrow shoulders, thin
plan brought about by your goals. Setting goals legs and arms, little fats on the body, a narrow
is just like aiming at a target. It helps you plan face, and a narrow chest. They always stay skinny.
things to do and its schedule. Without a plan, you They always keep to themselves and are afraid to
will not be able to do its schedule. branch out.

Mistakes enables us to learn to do things

Mesomorphic
better. There is always an element of risk in
Physically they tend to have a large head and
whatever we do and that is normal. Be a risk-taker.
broad shoulders with a narrow waist. They have a
Stay positive and persevere. With this you will
desire to have power and be dominant.
motivate yourself to continue with your attempts
in whatever you do until you reach excellence.
Remember failures are steppingstones to success.
Endomorphic
Physically they are round, usually short, wide
Achievement literally means success.
hips and narrow shoulders. Personality wise they
Develop Your Creative Mind are fun-loving , good-humored, tolerant and
sociable, love food and affection.
All of us have the so called creative bent, but
what matters is how we identify this talent for Psychological Development
creativity and make use of it. You just need to be begins with the experience, expression,
aware of what is happening around you. There is understanding, and regulation of emotions from
much is so much happening around you that that birth through late adolescence.
you take for granted and just tolerate what is
going on. Be curious. Keep on asking questions. Social Development
Find out why certain things happen and their refers to the learned and developed ways of
relevance, why people behave the way they do. behaving in accordance to social expectations.
Don’t settle to what where and when questions
rather ask why and how. Erick Erickson (1959) developed the 8
psychosocial stages that provide a framework
Albert Einstein had the habit of lying down on from which we could understand the development
the grass and looking up the sky. He was dyslexic of human social nature from infancy to old age.
that resulted to his poor academic performance.
He had reading disorder, but he introduced Spiritual Development
the Theory of Relativity for which he won Nobel is best explain by how it is achieved. It is a
Prize for Physics. process of developing personal belief to God and
holiness.
Finding the answer to “Who am I?” may begin
at your age now. You need to develop a healthy
you, someone who is flexible and adaptive, and DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES IN MIDDLE AND
open to changes in relationships and in society. LATE ADOLESCENCE
The major concern that adolescents face
DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON is their identity, completeness, and
productiveness in life. The demands of growing
Developmentally, adolescence is a time of change. up are complicated during adolescence due to a
The physical changes during this period are dramatic changes that take place physically,
simply matters of growth and maturation yet it is psychologically, intellectually, and socially. As
only a fraction of changes that adolescents adolescents start to mature, they tend to be more
experience. attached to their age group with similar
characteristics, norms, and behaviors.
Cognitive Development Developmental task according to Robert
is the emergence of the ability to think and James Havighurst (1972), is a task which an
understand. Changes in one’s mental abilities, individual has to and wants to solve at a
learning capacity, memory reasoning, thinking particular stages of life.
process and language are evident.
 Developmental Tasks of Adolescents
Robert Havighurst (1972) identified 8
developmental tasks associated with adolescents’
smooth journey to responsible adulthood.

1. Achieving new and more mature relations with

boys and girls in their age group.
Your interaction with people is not
extraordinary during this stage.

2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role

With rapid physical and sexual maturity
taking place in your body, determining your role
in your family, in the society as a boy or a girl
should come along.

3. Accepting changes in one’s physique.

Some may have envisioned the kind of
body you want to look when you grow up.

4. Achieving emotional independence from

parents and other adults.
There are times when you are really
hurting inside but you would rather hide it form
your parents than show off unruly behavior

5. Preparing for marriage and family.

Interactions with opposite sex, most often
than not, lead to the development of sexual
attractions and infatuation

6. Selecting and preparing for occupation.

There are adolescents who want to
support himself for education or economic
reasons thus look for any kind of job.

7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical

system as a guide to behavior; developing an
ideology.
Often, we hear adults telling us “You are a
grown-up now do what you think is right”.

8. Achieving a socially responsible behavior.

The adage “Tell me who your friends are,
and I will tell you who you are” simply connotes
that our behavior, manner of speaking, choice of
words and actuations are influenced by the
people surround us.

COPE UP WITH STRESS IN THE MIDDLE AND

LATE ADOLESCENCE