PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

I. KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING ONESELF DURING The Benefits of Self-Concept

MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE ✓ Happiness. You will be happier when you can express who
you are. Expressing your desires will make it more likely that
SELF-CONCEPT you get what you want.
Self-concept is the way people think about themselves. As a ✓ Less inner conflict. When your outside actions are in
global understanding of oneself, self-concept shapes and accordance with your inside feelings and values, you will
defines who we are, the decisions we make, and the experience less inner conflict.
relationships we form. ✓ Better decision-making. When you know yourself, you are
able to make better choices about everything, from small
Self-concept is our individual perceptions of our behavior, decisions like which sweater you’ll buy to big decisions like
abilities, and unique characteristics—a mental picture of who which partner you’ll spend your life with. You'll have
you are as a person. Self-concept (1) is unique to the guidelines you can apply to solve life’s varied problems.
individual; (2) can be positive or negative; (3) has emotional, ✓ Self-control. When you know yourself, you understand
intellectual, and functional dimensions; (4) changes with the what motivates you to resist bad habits and develop good
environmental context; (5) changes over time; and (6) has a ones. You'll have the insight to know which values and goals
activate your willpower.
powerful influence on one’s life.
✓ Resistance to social pressure. When you are grounded in
Humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers believed that there were your values and preferences, you are less likely to say “yes”
three different parts of self-concept: when you want to say “no.”
✓ Self-image, or how you see yourself. Each individual’s self- ✓ Tolerance and understanding of others. Your awareness
image is a mixture of different attributes including our of your own foibles and struggles can help you empathize with
physical characteristics, personality traits,and social roles. others.
Self-image doesn't necessarily coincide with reality. ✓ Vitality and pleasure. Being who you truly are helps you
✓ Self-esteem, or how much you value yourself. A number of feel more alive and makes your experience of life richer,
factors can iimpact self-esteem including how we compare larger, and more exciting.
ourselves to others and how others respond to us. When
people respond positively to our behavior, we are more likely PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
to develop positive self-esteem. When we compare ourselves to Personal effectiveness means making use of all the personal
others and find ourselves lacking, it can have a negative resources – talents, skills, energy and time, to enable you to
impact on our self-esteem. achieve life goals.
✓ Ideal self, or how you wish you could be. In many cases, Your knowledge of yourself and how you manage yourself
the way we see ourselves and how we would like to see impacts directly on your personal effectiveness. Being self-
ourselves do not quite match up. aware, making the most of your strengths, learning new skills
and techniques and behavioral flexibility are all keys to information creates the risk of negative consequences of your
improving your personal performance. actions. It increases efficiency in the actively changing
Our personal effectiveness depends on our innate environment.
characteristics – talent and experience accumulated in the ✓ Problem-solving skills. They help cope with the problems
process of personal development. Talents first are needed to encountered with a lack of experience. It increases efficiency
be identified and then developed to be used in a particular by adopting new ways of achieving goals when obtaining a
subject area (science, literature, sports, politics, etc.). new experience.
Experience includes knowledge and skills that we acquire in ✓ Creativity. It allows you to find extraordinary ways to carry
the process of cognitive and practical activities. Knowledge is out a specific action that no one has tried to use. It can lead
required for setting goals, defining an action plan to achieve to a decrease or an increase of costs, but usually the speed of
them and risk assessment. Skills also determine whether real action is greatly increased when using creative tools.
actions are performed in accordance with the plan. If the ✓ Generating ideas. It helps you achieve goals using new,
same ability is used many times in the same situation, then it original, unconventional ideas. Idea is a mental image of an
becomes a habit that runs automatically, subconsciously. object formed by the human mind, which can be changed
before being implemented in the real world. For generating
Here are some skills that will greatly increase the efficiency of ideas, you can use a method of mental maps, which allows
any person who owns them: you to materialize, visualize and scrutinize all your ideas,
which in turn contributes to the emergence of new ideas.
✓ Determination. It allows you to focus only on achieving a
specific goal without being distracted by less important things II. DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON
or spontaneous desires. It may be developed with the help of
self-discipline exercise. The Power Triad: Thoughts, Feelings and Actions
✓ Self-confidence. It appears in the process of personal From time to time, all of us struggle with thoughts, feelings
development, as a result of getting aware of yourself, your and behaviors that are unproductive or detrimental, and we
actions and their consequences. Self-confidence is manifested all find it difficult at times to muster the motivation to take
in speech, appearance, dressing, gait, and physical condition. the action needed to interrupt our troublesome outlook and
To develop it, you need to learn yourself and your capabilities, replace it with a healthier, more positive one. Why do we do
gain positive attitude and believe that by performing right the things that we do? Behavior is sometimes described as a
actions and achieving right result of a cyclical process.
goals you will certainly reach success.
✓ 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.
✓ 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
 those feelings we engage in behaviors which in turn impact
the situation (either positively or negatively), and the cycle
continues.

Difference between Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors

Thoughts: Your internal summary or prediction about a
situation or event.
Examples:
“This is going to be a disaster”.
“This is going to be great”.
“Everyone’s going to laugh at me”.

Situations:
Feelings: One word summaries of internal emotional states.
We all receive messages about a given situation – both
Examples:
messages from others and messages we send ourselves. The
Nervous
more clearly we can label these messages, the less likely they
Scared
are to drive the cycle in an unhealthy direction.
Excited
Thoughts:
Behaviors: Can be both inward (invisible) and outward
We can retrain our brains to identify automatic thoughts
(observable).
which can be negative or unhelpful, interrupt them and
Examples:
replace them with more constructive coping thoughts.
Tensing muscles Skipping class
Turning down an invitation to a party
Feelings:
Jumping off a diving board
Learning to name and rate our moods and cultivating
mindfulness can help us to connect to our emotions, rather
than being dictated to by them. Relaxation techniques can
help ease the feelings of stress and anxiety that can keep us
III. DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE
stuck in unhealthy behaviors.
ADOLESCENCE
Behaviors:
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes called
When we are down, we tend to be less active; the less we do,
Human Development. It focuses on human growth and
the less we want to do, and the more we continue to feel
changes across the lifespan, including physical, cognitive,
down.
social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional
Simply put, a situation arises, and we have thoughts about
growth.
the facts of that situation; those trigger feelings, and based on
The study of human developmental stages is essential in
understanding how humans learn, mature and adapt. ERIK ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY OF
Moreover, by understanding these changes, you can better DEVELOPMENT
respond and plan ahead effectively. In this module, you will
learn Developmental Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development
that help your maturity. explains how people grow psychologically and socially across
eight stages of life. At each stage, a person faces a central
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES conflict (crisis). How they resolve it influences their
Which stage of life is the most important? Some might claim personality and future development.
that infancy is the key stage, when a baby’s brain is wide
open to new experiences that will influence all the rest of its 1. Infancy (0–1 year) – Trust vs. Mistrust
later life. Others might argue that it’s adolescence or young o If caregivers provide love, safety, and care, the
adulthood, when physical health is at its peak. Many cultures child develops trust. Neglect or inconsistency
around the world value late adulthood more than any other, leads to mistrust.
arguing that it is at this stage that the human being has 2. Early Childhood (2–3 years) – Autonomy vs. Shame
finally acquired the wisdom necessary to guide others. Who is and Doubt
right? The truth of the matter is that every stage of life is o Children learn independence (toilet training,
equally significant and necessary for the welfare of humanity. feeding, dressing). Support builds confidence;
over-criticism creates doubt and shame.
3. Preschool (3–5 years) – Initiative vs. Guilt
o Kids start to assert power through play and social
interactions. Encouragement develops initiative;
discouragement fosters guilt.
4. School Age (6–12 years) – Industry vs. Inferiority
o Children develop skills, work with peers, and
accomplish tasks. Success builds competence;
repeated failure or lack of support leads to
feelings of inferiority.
5. Adolescence (12–18 years) – Identity vs. Role
Confusion
o Teens explore values, beliefs, and goals to form a
stable identity. Without guidance, they may
struggle with confusion about who they are.
6. Young Adulthood (19–40 years) – Intimacy vs. Isolation
o The challenge is forming close, meaningful
relationships. Success leads to intimacy; failure
brings loneliness and isolation.
 7. Middle Adulthood (40–65 years) – Generativity vs.
Stagnation
o Adults focus on contributing to society and
supporting the next generation (career, family,
community). If not, they may feel stagnant or
unproductive.
8. Late Adulthood (65 and above) – Integrity vs. Despair
o Older adults reflect on life. Acceptance brings
integrity and fulfillment; regret leads to despair.

HAVIGHURST`S DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS DURING THE

LIFE SPAN
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.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a psychological theory that

explains human motivation as a ladder of needs. People must
generally satisfy lower-level needs before moving to higher
ones. Here’s a concise breakdown of each level:

1. Physiological Needs – Basic survival requirements:

food, water, air, shelter, sleep. Without these, higher
needs don’t matter.
2. Safety Needs – Once survival is met, people seek
security: physical safety, stable income, health,
protection from danger.
3. Love and Belongingness Needs – Humans crave
relationships: family, friendships, intimacy, acceptance
in groups or communities.
4. Esteem Needs – Respect for self and from others:
achievement, recognition, confidence, feeling valued.
Lack of this can lead to feelings of inferiority.
 5. Self-Actualization – The peak: realizing one’s full Listen to them. This may be easier said than done at this
potential, pursuing personal growth, creativity, stage, but creating good relationship with them will do you
purpose, and meaning in life. good as they are the ones you can lean on especially in times
of trouble.
4. Think a lot before doing something. Evaluate probable
consequences before acting. Practice self-control and self-
discipline.
5. Choose to do the right thing. There are plenty of situations
in which it is better to use your mind rather than your heart.
6. Do your best to resist temptations, bad acts, and earthly
pleasures and commit to being a responsible adolescent.
7. Respect yourself. You are an adult in the making. Do not
let your teenage hormones get into you. If you respect
yourself, others will respect you too.
8. Be prepared to be answerable or accountable for your
actions and behavior. It is a part of growing up and becoming
an adult.

Physical Development
• Most girls have completed the physical changes related to
The idea is that motivation rises step by step—if your puberty by age 15.
stomach’s empty, you’re not pondering the meaning of life. • Boys are still maturing and gaining strength, muscle mass,
But once basics are covered, people naturally look upward and height and are completing the development of sexual
toward growth and fulfillment. traits.
Emotional Development
• May stress over school and test scores.
IV. ADULTING 101: HOW TO DEAL WITH ADULTING • Is self- involved (may have high expectations and low self-
concept).
Eight (8) simple rules which could help you, teenagers, to • Seek privacy and time alone.
become a responsible adolescent who is prepared for adult • Is concerned about physical and sexual attractiveness.
life: • May complain of parents preventing him or her from doing
1. Focus on your studies and do well in all of your endeavors. things independently.
There is time for everything. • Starts to want both physical and emotional intimacy in
2. Take care of your health and hygiene. Healthy body and relationships.
mind are important as you journey through adolescence.
• Try the experience of intimate partnerships.
3. Establish good communication and relation with your
parents or guardian.
Social Development stress. Negative emotions, on the other hand, are more often
• Shifts in relationship with parents from dependency and held inside. They are hidden. You suffer quietly and you
subordination to one that reflects the adolescent’s increasing experience stress. Do not confuse positive situations with
maturity and responsibilities in the family and community, positive emotions. A wedding, for example, is a positive
• Is more and more aware of social behaviors of friends. situation that often brings about the negative emotions of
• Seek friends that share the same beliefs, values and anxiety and tension. So stress can exist in great situations.
interests.
• Friends become more important. Causes and Effects of Stress
• Starts to have more intellectual interest. Just as there is great variety of emotions you might
• Explores romantic and sexual behaviors with others. experience, there are many possible manifestations of stress –
• May be influenced by peers to try risky behaviors (alcohol, in your private life and in your working life. The following are
tobacco, sex). some words that describe the emotions associated (as cause
Mental Development and effect) with stress:
• Becomes better able to set goals and think in terms of the • Anxiety
future. • Pressure
• Has a better understanding of complex problems and issues. • Misery
• Start to develop moral ideals and to select role models. • Strain
• Desperation
V. COPING WITH STRESS IN MIDDLE AND LATE • Tension
ADOLESCENCE • Anger
• Panic
Stress is the body’s response to anything that makes us feel • Dejection
threatened or pressured. It is caused by any kind of demand,
to which we must adapt, adjust, or respond. It is the body’s Prolonged stress can be devastating; burnout, breakdown,
automatic way of reacting to changes, challenges, and and depression are some of the potential results of long-term,
demands placed on us. unmanaged stress. By wearing a mask, you may expect to
hide stress caused by problems in your personal life and not
Dictionary definitions do not quite capture the meaning of let them influence your performance on the job. This will
stress as it is seen and experienced in the world of work. probably not work. The more you try to hold your emotions in,
One of Webster’s definitions describes it as an “…emotional the greater the pressure buildup will be.
factor that causes bodily or mental tension.”
A practical way of defining stress is the feeling one gets from
prolonged, pent-up emotions. If the emotions you experience
are pleasant and desirable—joy, elation, ecstasy, and
delight—you usually feel free to let them show. They are not
suppressed. Therefore, positive emotions do not usually cause
VI. BRAINPOWER: COMPLEX ORGAN CONTROLS YOUR and occipital -- each have different functions. They get
EVERY THOUGHT AND MOVE their names from the sections of the skull that are next
to them.
The Power to Act
➢ Frontal lobe – determines personality and
• Brain Stem – connects the spinal cord and the brain. It emotions
controls functions that keep people alive such as
breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and food ➢ Parietal lobe – helps people understand what
digestion. Those activities occur without any thought. they see and feel
You aren't telling yourself, "Inhale. Exhale. Inhale." ➢ Temporal lobe – hearing and word recognition
You're just breathing. abilities
• Cerebellum – That region controls voluntary movement. ➢ Occipital – vision functions
When you want to lift your fork, wave your hand, brush
your hair or wink at a cutie, you form the thought and The brain's healthy functioning is essential to living and
then an area in the cerebellum translates your will into determines quality of life, doctors emphasize protecting the
action. It happens so quickly. Think about how little organ from injury and chemical abuse.
time passes between your desire to continue reading "The size of the brain doesn't increase much after 3” –
this sentence and the time it takes your eyes to move to Doug Postel
this word or this one. It seems automatic, but it isn't.
During the first three years of life, the brain experiences most
Neurons, the basic functional units of the nervous of its growth and develops most of its potential for learning.
system, are three-part units and are key to brain That's the time frame in which synaptogenesis, or the creation
function. of pathways for brain cells to communicate, occurs.
The thought moves as an electrical signal from the Because so little recovery occurs to brains damaged
nerve cell down the axon to a dendrite, which looks after age 3, the effects of drugs and alcohol on the brain
like branches at the end of nerve cells. The signal jumps might be lasting.
from the end of the dendrite on one cell across the
space, called a synapse, to the dendrite of another cell Studies have found that marijuana use hinders
with the help of chemicals called neurotransmitters. memory, learning, judgment and reaction times, while
That signal continues jumping from cell to cell until it steroids cause aggression and violent mood swings.
reaches the muscle you need to wave, wink or walk. Ecstasy destroys neurons that make serotonin, a
• Cerebrum – is the largest of the three brain sections, chemical crucial in controlling sleep, violence, mood
accounts for about 85 percent of the brain's weight, and swings and sexual urges
has four lobes. The lobes-frontal, parietal, temporal
THE DOMINANT SIDE OF THE BRAIN
The Whole Brain Theory

Scientists studied how different parts of the brain work. At

first, Paul Broca discovered that language functions are
mostly on the left side of the brain. Later, Roger Sperry
found that the two brain hemispheres work differently:

• Left brain → logical, analytical, and reasoning. WHAT IS MIND MAPPING?

• Right brain → creative, intuitive, and imaginative.
• Mind mapping is a powerful thinking tool. It is a
graphical technique that mirrors the way the brain
This was called the Split-Brain Theory.
works, and was invented by Tony Buzan. Mind mapping
Then, Paul McLean introduced the Triune Brain Theory, helps to make thinking visible.
saying the brain has three layers:

• Neocortex (thinking brain) → language, planning,

problem-solving.
• Limbic system (emotional brain) → feelings,
motivation, bonding.
• Reptilian brain (survival brain) → instincts like self-
preservation and aggression.

Finally, Ned Herrmann expanded these ideas into the Whole

Brain Theory. He said the brain works in four quadrants:

• Upper left → logical and analytical.

• Upper right → creative and imaginative.
• Lower left → organized and detail-oriented.
• Lower right → emotional and interpersonal.

Herrmann compared this to how people have a “dominant How Do We Know the Brain Can Grow Stronger?
hand.” He explained that people also have a dominant brain Scientists started thinking that the human brain could
part—but all four quadrants are connected and can be used. develop and change when they studied animals’ brains. They
found out that animals who lived in a challenging VII. MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN MIDDLE AND
environment, with other animals and toys to play with, were LATE ADOLESCENCE
different from animals who lived alone in bare cages. While
Mental health. It’s the way your thoughts, feelings, and
the animals who lived alone just ate and slept all the time, the
behaviors affect your life. Good mental health leads to positive
ones who lived with different toys and other animals were self-image and in-turn, satisfying relationships with friends
always active. They spent a lot of time figuring out how to use and others. Having good mental health helps you make good
the toys and how to get along with the other animals. decisions and deal with life’s challenges at home, work, or
school.
It is not uncommon for teenagers to develop problems with
their mental health. Problems can range from mild to severe,
and can include depression, anxiety, body esteem issues, and
suicide, among others.
Often however, young people ignore mental health problems
thinking they will “snap out of it,” or that they are something
to be ashamed of. That kind of thinking prevents people from
getting the help they need. Sometimes getting help is a matter
of understanding mental health.
Self-care activities are the things you do to maintain good
health and improve well-being.
Mental health is an integral and essential component of
What Can You Do to Get Smarter? health. The WHO constitution states: "Health is a state of
Just like a weightlifter or a basketball player, to be a brain complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely
athlete, you have to exercise and practice. By practicing, you the absence of disease or infirmity." An important implication
make your brain stronger. You also learn skills that let you of this definition is that mental health is more than just the
use your brain in a smarter way—just like a basketball player absence of mental disorders or disabilities.
learns new moves. But many people miss out on the chance Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual
to grow a stronger brain because they think they can’t do it, realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal
or that it’s too hard. It does take work, just like becoming stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a
stronger physically or becoming a better ball player does. contribution to his or her community.
Sometimes it even hurts! But when you feel yourself get better Mental health might be very uncomfortable to talk about, but
it is important to deal with it as this will affect your well-
and stronger, all the work is worth it!
being.
Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual There are many other kinds of intelligence in addition to
ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, intellect. For example, spatial intelligence is the ability to
earn a living and enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, think in 3D. Musical intelligence is the ability to recognize
protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded rhythm, cadence, and tone. Athletic, artistic, and mechanical
as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies abilities are other types of intelligence.
throughout the world. One important type of intelligence is emotional intelligence.
Mental health promotion involves actions that improve
Positive vs. Negative Emotions
psychological wellbeing. This may involve creating an
Emotions (feelings) are a normal and important part of our
environment that supports mental health.
lives.
VIII. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Some emotions are positive. Think of happiness, joy, interest,
curiosity, excitement, gratitude, love, and contentment. These
Emotional intelligence means being aware of our emotional positive emotions feel good. Negative emotions — like sadness,
state as it pertains to the situation we find ourselves in. When anger, loneliness, jealousy, self-criticism, fear, or rejection —
we are emotionally intelligent, we know that we feel emotion, can be difficult, even painful at times.
we can name it (relatively) accurately, and we can express it in That's especially true when we feel a negative emotion too
non-harmful ways. We do not have to become the emotion and often, too strongly, or we dwell on it too long.
feel overwhelmed by it. When we are emotionally intelligent Negative emotions are impossible to avoid, though. Everyone
like this,our emotions give us information about how we feels them from time to time. They may be difficult, but we
perceive our place in the world, at that moment. They are a can learn to handle them.
mirror of our thinking about the world.
We can then use this information to make choices that
support ourselves and others.
EMOTIONS
Emotions are what you feel on the inside when things happen.
Emotions are also known as feelings.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
More Than One Kind of Intelligence
You may have heard people mention "IQ" when talking about
intellect and how smart someone is. (For example, "My
brother doesn't need to study as much as I do because he has
a really high IQ.") IQ stands for "intellectual quotient." It can
help predict how well someone may do academically. IQ is just
one measure of our abilities, though.