PERSONAL 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
UNIT 1: SELF-DEVELOPMENT 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
MODULE 1 : Knowing and Understanding Oneself INCONGRUENCE, or lack of alignment, will result in
during Middle and Late Adolescence MENTAL DISTRESS OR ANXIETY.
The greater the level of incongruence between the ideal
BIG QUESTION : How can understanding yourself pave the
self and real self, THE GREATER THE LEVEL OF
way to self acceptance and better relationship with others?
RESULTING DISTRESS.
Objectives: At the end of this module, you will be able to: Personal development modules’ ULTIMATE AIM is greater
1. explain that knowing yourself can make you accept your self-knowledge that will lead to higher alignment between
strengths and limitations and dealing with others better; these two personality domains.

2. share your unique characteristics, habits and experiences

Reading 2 : PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS means making use of all the
Reading 1 : SELF-CONCEPT
personal resources – talents, skills, energy and time, to enable
Imagine yourself looking into a mirror. What do you see? Do you to achieve life goals.
you see your ideal self or your actual self? Your knowledge of yourself and how you manage yourself
Your IDEAL SELF is the self that you aspire to be. It is the one IMPACTS directly on your personal effectiveness. Being self-
that you hope will possess characteristics similar to that of a aware, making the most of your strengths, learning new skills
mentor or some other worldly figure. and techniques and behavioral flexibility are all keys to
improving your personal performance.
Your ACTUAL SELF, however, is the one that you actually see.
It is the self that has characteristics that you were nurtured or, Our personal effectiveness depends on our innate
in some cases, born to have. characteristics – talent and experience accumulated in the
process of personal development.
The actual self and the ideal self are TWO BROAD
CATEGORIES OF SELF-CONCEPT. TALENTS first are needed to be identified and then developed
to be used in a particular subject area (science, literature,
SELF-CONCEPT refers to your awareness of yourself. It is the sports, politics, etc.).
construct that negotiates these two selves. In other words, it
connotes first the identification of the ideal self as separate from EXPERIENCE includes knowledge and skills that we acquire in
others, and second, it encompasses all the behaviors evaluated the process of cognitive and practical activities.
in the actual self that you engage in to reach the ideal self. KNOWLEDGE is required for setting goals, defining an action
The ACTUAL SELF is built on self-knowledge. plan to achieve them and risk assessment.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE is derived from social interactions that SKILLS also determine whether real actions are performed in
provide insight into how others react to you. accordance with the plan. If the same ability is used many times
in the same situation, then it becomes a habit that runs
The ACTUAL SELF is who we actually are. It is how we think, automatically, subconsciously.
how we feel, look, and act. The actual self can be seen by
others, but because we have no way of truly knowing how Here are some SKILLS that will greatly increase the
others view us, the ACTUAL SELF IS OUR SELF-IMAGE. efficiency of any person who owns them:

The IDEAL SELF, on the other hand, is how we want to be. It 1. Determination. It allows you to focus only on achieving a
is an idealized image that we have developed over time, based specific goal without being distracted by less important
on what we have learned and experienced. The ideal self could things or spontaneous desires. It may be developed with the
include components of what our parents have taught us, what help of self-discipline exercise.
we admire in others, what our society promotes, and what we 2. Self-confidence. It appears in the process of personal
think is in our best interest. development, as a result of getting aware of yourself, your
There is NEGOTIATION that exists between the two selves actions and their consequences. Self-confidence is manifested
which is complex because there are numerous exchanges in speech, appearance, dressing, gait, and physical
between the ideal and actual self. These exchanges are condition. To develop it, you need to learn yourself and your
exemplified in SOCIAL ROLES that are adjusted and re- capabilities, gain positive attitude and believe that by
adjusted, and are derived from outcomes of social performing right actions and achieving right goals you will
interactions from infant to adult development. certainly reach success.

Source : Personal Development Reader by Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines, First Edition, 2016
3. Persistence. It makes you keep moving forward Reading 4 : Story: YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF
regardless of emerging obstacles – problems, laziness, bad YOUR FUTURE
emotional state, etc. It reduces the costs of overcoming
obstacles. It can also be developed with the help of self- There are THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD:
discipline exercise.
The first is the MOVIEGOER. This person watches the movie
4. Managing stress. It helps combat stress that arises in of their lives, admires some parts and criticizes others. Aside
daily life from the environment and other people. Stress arises from that, they do nothing else. All she says the whole day is, “I
from the uncertainty in an unknown situation when a lack of like this thing and but I don’t like that thing.” The Moviegoer feels
information creates the risk of negative consequences of your she has absolutely no control of their lives --- except to
actions. It increases efficiency in the actively changing comment about it. Moviegoers are the most pathetic, miserable
environment. people in the world.

5. Problem-solving skills. They help cope with the problems The second is the ACTOR. This person does not only watch
encountered with a lack of experience. It increases efficiency the movie of her life. She actually realizes she’s the Actor – and
by adopting new ways of achieving goals when obtaining a new can control a big part of her life. She can actually make or break
experience. the movie – by how well she delivers her lines and how she
portrays her character. Actors are a happy bunch, realizing
6. Creativity. It allows you to find extraordinary ways to carry they’re the start of the show and enjoy some level of control.
out a specific action that no one has tried to use. It can lead to But many times, they wish the movie would end in another way
a decrease or an increase of costs, but usually the speed of – but realize that they have no say in such things.
action is greatly increased when using creative tools.
The third is the SCRIPTWRITER. This person does not only
7. Generating ideas. It helps you achieve goals using new, watch, and she doesn’t only act, but she actually creates the
original, unconventional ideas. Idea is a mental image of an entire movie from her mind. She determines what she will say,
object formed by the human mind, which can be changed what she will do, and how the movie will end. She realizes she
before being implemented in the real world. For generating has enormous control over her life, and sees to it that the movie
ideas you can use a method of mental maps, which allows you of her life will turn out beautiful.
to materialize, visualize and scrutinize all your ideas, which in
turn contributes to the emergence of new ideas. Who are you among these three people?

These are just some, but the most important personal Do you merely watch your life go by?
effectiveness skills which make the achievement of any goal
Or do you act out a script that you feel has been handed to you?
easier and less costly.
Or do you write the script and make your life beautiful?
By the way, the Producer of the movie is GOD. He tells you,
Reading 3 : BUILD ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND
“Make the movie beautiful, and I will give you all that you need
WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESSES for success.”
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.

Source : Personal Development Reader by Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines, First Edition, 2016