LESSON 1:

KNOWING ONESELF
“HE WHO KNOWS OTHERS IS
WISE; HE WHO KNOWS HIMSELF IS
ENLIGHTENED.”
-LAO TZU
 BIG QUESTION:

How can understanding

yourself pave the way
to self-acceptance and
better relationship with
others?

ACTIVITY: SELF-CONCEPT INVENTORY
 Take a look at your own self-concept and answer the following
self-concept inventory in your journal.
 Give yourself a rating using the scale:
 0 = very weak;
 1 = weak;
 2 = somewhat weak or somewhat strong;
 3 = strong;
 4 = very strong
 ___14. I have a clean conscience and
___1. I have strong sex appeal. carry no guilty feeling.
___2. I am proud of my physical figure. ___15. I have integrity and good
___3. I am physically attractive and reputation.
beautiful/handsome.
___16. My friends and classmates can
___4. I exude with charm and poise. look up to me as a model worth
emulating.
___5. I am easy to get along with.
___17. I can express my ideas without
___6. I can adjust to different people and difficulty.
different situations.
___7. I am approachable; other people
___18. I talk in a persuasive manner that I
are at ease and comfortable with me. can easily get people to accept what I
say.
___8. I am lovable and easy to love.
___19. I can express my ideas in writing
___9. I am a fast learner, can understand without difficulty.
with one instruction.
___20. I am a good listener.
___10. I am intelligent.
___21. I am emotionally stable and not
___11.I have special talents and abilities. easily rattled when faced with trouble.
___12. I can easily analyze situations and ___22. I am logical and rational in my
make right judgments. outlook and decisions.
___13. I can be trusted in any transaction. ___23. I feel and act with confidence.
___24. I am a mature person.
 SCORING: COPY THIS TABLE IN YOUR
JOURNAL. WRITE YOUR SCORE OPPOSITE
EACH NUMBER AND GET THE SUBTOTAL.
Physical appeal Human Relations Intelligence
1 __________ 5 __________ 9 __________
2 __________ 6 __________ 10 __________
3 __________ 7 __________ 11 __________
4 __________ 8 __________ 12 __________
Subtotal: Subtotal: Subtotal:
Character Communication Maturity
13 __________ 17 __________ 21 __________
14 __________ 18 __________ 22 __________
15 __________ 19 __________ 23 __________
16 __________ 20 __________ 24 __________
Subtotal: Subtotal: Subtotal:
 HOW DO YOU PERCEIVED YOURSELF?
 Look at the results of your self-concept inventory and answer the
following questions.
1. In what areas do you consider yourself
 strong (with score 14-16) or somewhat weak (score of 10-13) and
very weak (below 10).
2. Are there qualities you consider as your weakness but other people
consider as your strength? What are these? Check with a partner.
Example: A lady can say “I`m ugly” yet other consider her very
charming. Or conversely, one can have the illusion of saying “I am
very intelligent or competent” when most of his ideas sound
unreasonable or illogical to most of the people. There is indeed a big
difference between what you see in yourself (real self-image) and
what is projected in the eyes of the others (your social image).
3. How realistic is your self- image?
IMAGINE YOURSELF LOOKING INTO
THE MIRROR.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Do you
see your
ideal
self or
your
actual
self?
 IDEAL SELF
 It 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.
ACTUAL SELF
It 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.
 SELF-CONCEPT
 Refers to your awareness of yourself.
 It is the construct that negotiates these
two selves.
 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.
 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.
PORTFOLIO OUTPUT NO. 1 –
TALENT/VARIETY SHOW PRESENTATION
CRITERIA:
 originality (4 points)
 creativity/resourcefulness (4 points)
 teamwork (4 points),
 presentation (4 points),
 effort (4 points)
 Compute the average of ratings for your group and write this
average rating for your presentation in your journal.
 Write about your experience as a group leader/member in this
activity.
 YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR
FUTURE
 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.
YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR
FUTURE  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.
YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR
FUTURE
 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 by?
 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 just need one (1) notebook to maintain a personal
journal. 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?
  Processing:
 Write your answers in your personal journal.
1. What have you discovered in yourself?
2. What are your core strengths?
3. What are the qualities you want to hone and improve on?

“A PEN IS CERTAINLY AN EXCELLENT

INSTRUMENT TO FIX A MAN’S ATTENTION
AND INFLAME HIS AMBITION” – JOHN ADAMS
HYGIENE KIT (POUCH) KIKAY KIT (POUCH)
 Deodorant (sachet)
 Face towel/handkerchief • Make up
 Toothbrush and toothpaste or
mouth wash • Pony tail
 Underwear • Hairpins/clips
 Powder, cologne, alcohol • others
 Soap
 Nail cutter ART KIT
 Comb
• Bond/colored
 Tissue
paper
 Girls: sanitary napkin/panty
liner • Coloring and
 Boys: gel or wax writing material
 others • Glue or paste
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.
 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.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
 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.
 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.

5. PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
 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.

6. CREATIVITY
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.
ACTIVITY: MY BANNER – THE TREASURE
WITHIN ME
IN THE SPACES INDICATED BY NUMBERS,
WRITE DOWN THE FOLLOWING
 1 and 2 two things I do very well
 3 and 4 my two greatest achievements in life
 5 what in myself am I proudest of
 6 my happiest moment
 7 positive words that my friends use to describe me
 8 a personal goal that I have already achieved
 9 three blessings for which I am most thankful to God
 10 three of my positive qualities 11 difficulties, challenges and
problems that I was able to solve and overcome
 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.
 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.
PORTFOLIO OUTPUT NO. 2: JOURNAL
REFLECTION FROM MY BANNER
Write about your banner.
 1. What do you consider as your weaknesses, abilities and
talents?
 2. What are the remedies you will take to improve or
compensate for your weakness?
 3. How can you further enrich your assets and strengths?
 4. Where and how do you use it to your best advantage?