Personal Development Reviewer PDF

Lesson 1 Reading: 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...

Lesson 1 Reading: 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. - The actual self and the ideal self are two broad categories of self-concept. Actual self - The one that you actually see. - It is the self that has characteristics that you were nurtured or, in some cases, born to have. - Built on self-knowledge. - 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. Self-knowledge - Derived from social interactions that provide insight into how others react to you. Ideal self - 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. - It 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. Reading: Personal Effectiveness - It 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. Knowledge - Is required for setting goals, defining an action plan to achieve them and risk assessment. Skills - It determines whether real actions are performed in accordance with the plan. 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. 5. Problem-solving skills. - 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. 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 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, 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 most important personal effectiveness skills which make the achievement of any goal easier and less costly. 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. 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. Reading: Story: YOU NEED TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE Moviegoer - This person watches the movie of their lives, admires some parts and criticizes others. - The Moviegoer feels she has absolutely no control of their lives --- except to comment about it. - The most pathetic, miserable people in the world. Actor - This person realizes she is the Actor in her life, controlling much of the story through her actions and delivery. - Actors enjoy being the star and having some control but often wish for different endings beyond their control. 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. Lesson 2 Reading: Aspects of the self Self-concept - The self-concept is a collection of multiple, context-dependent selves. - Context activates self-knowledge, and feedback affects self-evaluations and emotions. - Understanding the self helps identify areas for self-regulation, stability, and improvement. Three Aspects of the Self 1. Physical Aspect Relates to the body, which is tangible and obvious. Often prioritized, with time and money spent on enhancement. The body houses the mind (thoughts) and spirit (feelings). 2. Intellectual Aspect Relates to the mind, which directs the body and emotions. Stores thoughts and beliefs, influencing actions and emotions. Promotes creativity, prayer, forgiveness, and acceptance. 3. Emotional Aspect Relates to feelings, often the most feared and difficult to manage. Negative emotions, if unmanaged, lead to repression and numbness. Key Insights All three aspects must work in harmony for balance. Self-evaluation helps identify strengths and weaknesses. Managing emotions is crucial for overall well-being. Example - For instance, a girl realizes that she is giving much attention on the physical aspects and less attention on her intellectual self. In this way, she can discover how much money and time spent maintaining her physique and its consequences in her grades. By this honest evaluation of herself, she can plan effective actions to improve her study habits. She can start seeking for help and for related books to read or browse articles to help her improve her study habits. A real winner is someone who: 1. Wins over battles and difficulties in life, turning them into learning and glorifying experiences. 2. Finds meaning in both pleasant and unpleasant events in life. 3. Lives in peace with difficult people and challenging situations. 4. Wins the goodwill, respect, and admiration of others. 5. Achieves goals using win-win strategies, never at the expense of others. 6. Discovers and utilizes opportunities to their best advantage. 7. Develops and uses talents and abilities effectively, contributing meaningfully to making the world a better place. Reading: The Story of Two Wolves The following is an old Cherokee Indian story that is enlightening and helpful. One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all." "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed". Knowing which wolf to feed is the first step towards recognizing you have control over your own self. Have you ever had thoughts, feelings or acted in ways that were unacceptable to yourself but felt powerless to control? The purpose of this story is to help you find ways to manage your mind so that you can live your life more in accordance with what your own judgment says is best for you. As we grow up, we gradually become aware of the many things in the external world which are largely beyond our ability to control. These include other people in general and most events in our lives. Initially this is difficult to accept, but a more shocking realization is that there are many things about ourselves that we seem powerless to control. Some of these are our own thoughts, feelings, and actions which unfortunately can be the source of much distress. It may be thoughts such as “I cannot stop hating my teacher for not giving me high grades.” It may involve an emotion e.g. “My girlfriend left me and I cannot stop feeling sad, lonely and unloved.” It can also be in the form of a behavior such as the inability to control one's craving for food such as cakes and chocolates.” But are we indeed really powerless to control our own maladaptive thoughts, feelings and actions? The grandfather’s answer "The one you feed" is deceivingly simple. The results of psychological research indicate that there are at least four important concepts or ideas implied by the answer: 1. The mind is not the unitary entity it seems to us but consists of different parts. For example in the story there are the two wolves and the “you” that chooses between them. 2. These parts of the mind/brain can interact and be in conflict with each other i.e. the two wolves fight for dominance over our mind and behavior. 3. The “you” has the ability to decide which wolf it will feed. 4. Having made a choice, “you” can decide specifically how to “feed” or nurture the selected wolf. Reading: The Power Triad: Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions The STORY OF THE TWO WOLVES gives rise to a number of questions. Let us share our thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the following questions. By taking time to do this, you will learn to better manage your mind, feelings, and actions and consciously feeding the good wolf in you. Lesson 3 Reading: Developmental Stages Human Development - Focuses on human growth and changes across the lifespan, including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional growth. - The study of human developmental stages is essential to understanding how humans learn, mature and adapt. Throughout their lives, humans go through various stages of development. - The human being is either in a state of growth or decline, but either condition imparts change. - Some aspects of our life change very little over time, are consistent. - Other aspects change dramatically. By understanding these changes, we can better respond and plan ahead effectively. Developmental Stage Characteristics Developmental Stage Characteristics Age when hereditary endowments and sex 1. Pre-natal (Conception to birth) are fixed and all body features, both external and internal are developed. Foundation age when basic behavior are 2. Infancy (Birth to 2 years) organized and many ontogenetic maturation skills are developed. Pre-gang age, exploratory, and questioning. Language and Elementary reasoning are 3. Early Childhood (2 to 6 years) acquired and initial socialization is experienced. Gang and creativity age when self-help skills, 4. Late Childhood (6 to 12 years) social skills, school skills, and play are developed. Transition age from childhood to adulthood when sex maturation and rapid physical 5. Adolescence (puberty to 18 years) development occur resulting to changes in ways of feeling, thinking and acting. Age of adjustment to new patterns of life and 6. Early Adulthood (18 to 40 years) roles such as spouse, parent and bread winner. Transition age when adjustments to initial 7. Middle Age (40 years to retirement) physical and mental decline are experienced. Retirement age when increasingly rapid 8. Old Age (Retirement to death) physical and mental decline are experienced. Reading: Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks during the Life Span Developmental Tasks Theory by Robert J. Havighurst Robert J. Havighurst elaborated on the Developmental Tasks Theory in the most systematic and extensive manner. His main assertion is that development is continuous throughout the entire lifespan, occurring in stages, where the individual moves from one stage to the next by means of successful resolution of problems or performance of developmental tasks. These tasks are those that are typically encountered by most people in the culture where the individual belongs. If the person successfully accomplishes and masters the developmental task, he feels pride and satisfaction, and consequently earns his community or society’s approval. This success provides a sound foundation which allows the individual to accomplish tasks to be encountered at later stages. Conversely, if the individual is not successful at accomplishing a task, he is unhappy and is not accorded the desired approval by society, resulting in the subsequent experience of difficulty when faced with succeeding developmental tasks. This theory presents the individual as an active learner who continually interacts with a similarly active social environment. Havighurst proposed a bio-psychosocial model of development, wherein the developmental tasks at each stage are influenced by the individual’s biology (physiological maturation and genetic makeup), his psychology (personal values and goals), and sociology (specific culture to which the individual belongs). THE DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS SUMMARY TABLE Infancy and Early Childhood Middle Childhood (6-12) Adolescence (13-18) (0-5) Learning physical skills Achieving mature relations Learning to walk necessary for ordinary games with both sexes Building a wholesome Achieving a masculine or Learning to take solid foods attitude toward oneself feminine social role Learning to get along with Learning to talk Accepting one’s physique age-mates Learning to control the Learning an appropriate sex Achieving emotional elimination of body wastes role independence of adults Developing fundamental Learning sex differences and Preparing for marriage and skills in reading, writing, and sexual modesty family life calculating Acquiring concepts and Developing concepts Preparing for an economic language to describe social necessary for everyday living career and physical reality Acquiring values and an Developing conscience, Readiness for reading ethical system to guide morality, and a scale of values behavior Learning to distinguish right Desiring and Achieving personal from wrong and developing achieving socially independence a conscience responsibility behavior Developing acceptable attitudes toward society Reading: Living mindfully Living mindfully is like being an artist: you need the right tools to practice your craft, and you need to constantly refine your technique to achieve your creative potential. In the same way, using the present moment tools below will help you to hone a consistent mindfulness practice that will in time lead to a more aware, compassionate and fulfilling way of life. Tool 1: Breathe Mindfully. - Use your breath as an anchor to still your mind and bring your focus back to the present moment. Tool 2: Listen Deeply. - Listen with intention; let others fully express themselves and focus on understanding how they think and feel. Tool 3: Cultivate Insight. - See life as it is, allowing each experience to be an opportunity for learning. Tool 4: Practice Compassion. - Consider the thoughts and feelings of others and let tenderness, kindness and empathy be your guides. Tool 5: Limit Reactivity. - Observe rather than be controlled by your emotions. - Pause, breathe, and choose a skillful response based on thoughtful speech and non violence under every condition. Tool 6: Express Gratitude. - Practice gratitude daily and expand it outward, appreciating everyone and everything you encounter. Tool 7: Nurture Mutual Respect. - Appreciate our common humanity and value different perspectives as well as your own. Tool 8: Build Integrity. - Cultivate constructive values and consistently act from respect, honesty and kindness. Tool 9: Foster Leadership. - Engage fully in life and in community. - Share your unique talents and generosity so that others can also be inspired. Tool 10: Be Peace. - Cultivate your own inner peace, becoming an agent for compassionate action and social good. Goodluck everyone!