Personal Development ourselves to others and find

ourselves lacking, it can have a

Reviewer negative impact on our self-esteem.
(From the discussion and other 3. Ideal self, or how you wish you could
literature) be. In many cases, the way we see
ourselves and how we would like to
Prepared by: John Carlo C. Baltar see ourselves do not quite match up.
If there is a mismatch between how you see
LESSON ONE: KNOWING ONESELF yourself (your self-image) and what you'd like
to be (your ideal self) then this is likely to
SELF-CONCEPT affect how much you value yourself (self-
• Self-concept is the way people think esteem). Therefore, there is an intimate
about themselves. As a global relationship between self-image, ideal self
understanding of oneself, self- and self-esteem.
concept shapes and defines who we According to Carl Rogers, the degree to
are, the decisions we make, and the which a person's self-concept matches up to
relationships we form. reality is known as congruence and
• Self-concept is our individual incongruence.
perceptions of our behavior, abilities,
and unique characteristics--a mental A person's ideal self may not be consistent
picture of who you are as a person. with what actually happens in the life and
• Self-concept (1) is unique to the experiences of the person. Hence, a
individual; (2) can be positive or difference may exist between a person's
negative; (3) has emotional, ideal self and actual experience. This is
intellectual, and functional called incongruence.
dimensions: (4) changes with the Where a person's ideal self and actual
environmental context; (5) changes experience are consistent or very similar, a
over time: and (6) has a powerful state of congruence exists. The development
influence on one's life. of congruence is dependent on unconditional
Humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers believed positive regard. Rogers believed that for a
that there were three different parts of self- person to achieve self-actualization they
concept; must be in a state of congruence.

1. Self-image, or how you see yourself. Why is self-concept important?

Each individual's self-image is a Knowing who you are will help you feel that
mixture of different attributes you have worth and value in this world. When
including our physical characteristics, you can accept yourself for who you are, it
personality traits, and social roles. will be easier for others to accept you, too.
Self-image doesn't necessarily Learning about yourself can help you
coincide with reality develop lasting relationships with others as
2. Self-esteem, or how much you value well as help you make choices that will direct
yourself. A number of factors can your life in the path you want to go.
impact self-esteem, including how we
compare ourselves to others and how
others respond to us. When people
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
respond positively to our behavior,
we are more likely to develop positive Personal effectiveness means making use of
self-esteem. When we compare all the personal resources - talents, skills,
energy and time, to enable you to achieve life knowledge, wisdom you have acquired, and
goals. insights you have.
Your knowledge of yourself and how you 3. Emotional Self.
manage yourself impacts directly on your
✓ Typical feelings you have, feelings
personal effectiveness. Being self-aware,
you seldom have, feelings you try to
making the most of your strengths, learning
avoid, feelings you especially enjoy,
new skills and techniques and behavioral
feelings from your past and present,
flexibility are all keys to improving your
and feelings which are associated
personal performance.
with each other.
Our personal effectiveness depends on our ✓ Regulation of emotions
innate characteristics - talent and experience
4. Sensual Self.
accumulated in the process of personal
development. Talents first are needed to be ✓ How you feel as a sensual person.
identified and then developed to be used in a What sense do you use most - sight,
particular subject area (science, literature, hearing, speaking, smelling,
sports, politics, etc.). Experience includes touching?
knowledge and skills that we acquire in the ✓ Different ways you take in information
process of cognitive and practical activities. - through the eyes, ears, mouth,
Knowledge is required for setting goals, nose, pores, and skin.
defining an action plan to achieve them and
risk assessment. 5. Interactional Self. Includes your
strengths and weaknesses in intimate
Skills also determine whether real actions relationships and relationships to friends,
are performed in accordance with the plan. If family, co-students and strangers in social
the same ability is used many times in the settings.
same situation, then it becomes a habit that
runs automatically, subconsciously. 6. Nutritional Self. How do you nourish
yourself? What foods do you like and dislike?
What do you like and dislike about these?
LESSON ONE: DEVELOPING THE 7. Contextual Self.
WHOLE PERSON
✓ Descriptors could be in the areas of
maintenance of your living
environment: reaction to light,
ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
temperature, space, weather, colors,
1. Physical Self. sound and seasons and your impact
on the environment.
✓ Includes descriptions of your height,
✓ Social environment
weight, facial appearance, and
quality of skin, hair and descriptions 8. Spiritual Self or Life Force.
of body areas such as your neck,
✓ This could include your feelings
chest, waist, legs.
about yourself and organized
✓ Presentation of self
religion, reactions about your spiritual
2. Intellectual Self. How well you reason connections to others, feelings about
and solve problems, your capacity to learn your spiritual development and
and create, your general amount of history, and thought about your
knowledge, your specific areas of metaphysical self.
✓ Inner peace and joy.
 ✓ Spiritual regimen or routine. feel, or respond with. People store both
healthy and destructive thoughts and beliefs
and responds to life's circumstances in the
ASPECTS OF THE SELF most prominent manner. The mind provides
access creativity and serenity which are
The self-concept is represented by several necessary for such processes as prayer,
aspects of the self. It is conceived as forgiveness, acceptance, and passion.
collection of multiple, context-dependent
selves. This construct believes that context The HUMAN EMOTIONS are the most
activates particular regions of self- feared aspect of the self, as individuals are
knowledge and self-relevant feedback reluctant and unprepared to manage them.
affects self-evaluations and affect. A deeper Managing feelings is like trying to hold water
look on the different aspects of self can in the palm of your hand. They are illusive
identify specific areas for self-regulation, and deceptive. A decision made under
stability and improvement. emotional stress and strain usually impacts
emotions negatively.
In a nutshell, an individual is composed of
three basic but very different aspects of Negative emotions that are not managed are
the self. They are the physical or tangible stored and repressed. Repression is
aspects as they relate to the body, the destructive to a content self since all feelings,
intellectual and conscious aspects as not only negative ones are stored away.
they relate to the mind, and the emotional Accessing feelings when they are needed
and intuitive aspects as they relate to the now becomes difficult, leaving the individual
spirit. All three aspects of the self work numb and hopeless.
together in perfect harmony when attention
For instance, a girl realizes that she is giving
is paid to all three simultaneously.
much attention on the physical aspects and
Many individuals put a strong emphasis on less attention on her intellectual self. in this
the PHYSICAL ASPECT OF THE SELF. way, she can discover how much money and
time spent maintaining her physique and its
✓ The body is tangible, obvious, and we consequences in her grades. By this honest
respond to it easily. More time and evaluation of herself, she can plan effective
money is spent on enhancing the actions to improve her study habits. She can
physical component than either of the start seeking for help and for related books
other two aspects. to read or browse articles to help her improve
✓ This does not mean, however, that her study habits.
the body is healthy or strong. The
body provides a place to house the
spirit (often experienced as feelings)
and the mind (often experienced as
thought).
✓ It may be important to some that their
mind be prominent and well
educated.
The mind is important, as it is the part of the
self that directs the other two aspects.
The MIND learns what to do and
communicates the information to the body
and the feelings. What the mind believes, the
body manifests or acts on, and the emotions