Unit 1: Self-Development

MODULE 1:
Knowing and Understanding Oneself during Middle
and Late Adolescence
Big Question: How can understanding yourself pave the way to self-
acceptance and better relationship with others?

Objectives:

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At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. explain that knowing yourself can make you accept your strengths and
limitations and dealing with others better;
2. share your unique characteristics, habits and experiences; and,
3. start and maintain a journal.

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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;
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1 = weak; 2 = somewhat weak or somewhat strong; 3 = strong; 4 = very strong

___1. I have strong sex appeal.

___2. I am proud of my physical figure.
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___3. I am physically attractive and beautiful/handsome.
___4. I exude with charm and poise.
___5. I am easy to get along with.
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___6. I can adjust to different people and different situations.

___7. I am approachable; other people are at ease and comfortable with me.
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___8. I am lovable and easy to love.

___9. I am a fast learner, can understand with one instruction.
___10. I am intelligent.
___11. I have special talents and abilities.
___12. I can easily analyze situations and make right judgments.
___13. I can be trusted in any transaction.
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___14. I have a clean conscience and carry no guilty feeling.

___15. I have integrity and good reputation.
___16. My friends and classmates can look up to me as a model worth emulating.
___17. I can express my ideas without difficulty.
___18. I talk in a persuasive manner that I can easily get people to accept what I
say.
___19. I can express my ideas in writing without difficulty.
___20. I am a good listener.
___21. I am emotionally stable and not easily rattled when faced with trouble.
___22. I am logical and rational in my outlook and decisions.
___23. I feel and act with confidence.
___24. I am a mature person.

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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 Communications Maturity
13 __________ 17 __________ 21 __________
14 __________ 18 __________ 22 __________
15 __________ 19 __________ 23 __________
16 __________ 20 __________ 24 __________

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Subtotal: Subtotal: Subtotal:

How do you perceive yourself?

Look at the results of your self-concept inventory and answer the following

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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).
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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”
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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).
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3. How realistic is your self- image?

4. To what extent does it reflect your real self?
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Source: Roldan, Amelia S. (2003). On Becoming a Winner: A Workbook on Personality

Development and Character Building. AR Skills Development and Management Services
(SDMS), Paranaque City, Metro Manila.
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Reading: SELF-CONCEPT
Imagine yourself looking into a mirror. What do you see? Do you see your
ideal self or your actual self? Your ideal self 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. Your actual self, however, 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.
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.

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 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.
There is negotiation that exists between the two selves which is complex
because there are numerous exchanges between the ideal and actual self. These
exchanges are exemplified in social roles that are adjusted and re-adjusted, and are
derived from outcomes of social interactions from infant to adult development.

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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

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distress. Personal development modules ultimate aim is greater self-knowledge that
will lead to higher alignment between these two personality domains.
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Source: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-self-concept-in-psychology-definition-
lesson-quiz.html
http://study.com/academy/lesson/ideal-self-vs-real-self-definition-lesson-quiz.html
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Portfolio Output No. 1 – Talent/Variety Show Presentation
Your group shall have a presentation in front of the class. The leaders of
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each group (including yours) shall rate your group based on the following criteria:
originality (4 points), creativity/resourcefulness (4 points), teamwork (4 points), and
audience impact (4 points), for a maximum of 16 points. Compute the average of
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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.

Reading: PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

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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. Being self-aware, making the most of your strengths,
learning new skills and techniques and behavioral flexibility are all keys to improving
your personal performance.
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.

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electronic or mechanical including photocopying – without written permission from the DepEd Central Office. First Edition, 2016.
 Knowledge is required for setting goals, defining an action plan to achieve
them and risk assessment.
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

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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.

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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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. These are just some, but the
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most important personal effectiveness skills which make the achievement of

any goal easier and less costly.

Source: http://www.chrysalisdevelopment.com/page6/page4/page4.html
http://www.learning-mind.com/7-basic-personal-effectiveness-skills/

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electronic or mechanical including photocopying – without written permission from the DepEd Central Office. First Edition, 2016.
 Activity: MY BANNER – THE TREASURE WITHIN ME

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In the spaces indicated by numbers, write down the following

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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
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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
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11 difficulties, challenges and problems that I was able to solve

and overcome

Reading: 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. 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.

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electronic or mechanical including photocopying – without written permission from the DepEd Central Office. First Edition, 2016.
 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: Roldan, Amelia S. 2003. On Becoming a Winner: A Workbook on Personality

Development and Character Building. AR Skills Development and Management Services
(SDMS), Paranaque City, Metro Manila.

Portfolio Output No. 2: Journal Reflection from My Banner

Write about your banner.
1. What do you consider as your weaknesses, abilities and talents?

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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?

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Reading: Story: YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE
There are three kinds of people in this world:
The first is the Moviegoer. This person watches the movie of their lives,
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Who are you among these three people?

Do you merely watch your life go y?
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.”

Source: Sanchez, Bo. (2006). Life Dreams Success Journal: Your Powerful Tool to Achieve
and Surpass Your Dreams One Step at a Time. Shepherd’s Voice Publishing.

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electronic or mechanical including photocopying – without written permission from the DepEd Central Office. First Edition, 2016.
 Reading: 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.

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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.

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You just need one (1) notebook to maintain a personal journal. You may use
these questions as you write in your journal:
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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
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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?
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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?
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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?
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“A pen is certainly is certainly an excellent instrument to fix a man’s attention

and inflame his ambition” – John Adams

All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means -
electronic or mechanical including photocopying – without written permission from the DepEd Central Office. First Edition, 2016.