Chapter1 IntroductiontoPersonalDevelopment

CHAPTER I
Introduction to Personal Development
Human Development and Personal Development: Three aspects or domain of HD:

1. Physical Development – covers the growth of the body and the brain, motor and
sensory skills, and even physical health.
2. Cognitive Development – covers the capacity to learn, to speak, to understand,
to reason, and to create.
3. Psychosocial Development – includes the social interactions with other people,
emotions, attitudes, self-identity, personality, beliefs and values.
While human development covers the whole lifespan of human existence to the three
domains, Personal development is one’s own development and growth within the context of
the three aspects of human development. Human development is also influenced by:
Heredity – or the inborn traits passed on by the generation of offspring from both
sides of the biological parent’s families.
Environment – the world outside of ourselves and the experiences that result from
our contact and interaction with this external world.
Maturation – the natural progression of the brain and the body that affects the
cognitive (thinking and intelligence), psychological (emotion, attitude, self-identity)
and social (relationships) dimensions of a person.
Is it Personality Development or Personal Development?
Personality development has given birth to many related businesses that span the globe. It
includes:
 Image enhancement such as skin care and make-up, fashion and clothing, and even
body contouring; modeling and beauty pageants.
 Enroll yourself to learn skills like table etiquette
 How to sit properly and walk with grace
 How to dress up appropriately and
 How to communicate better.
If personality development is all about these things mentioned above, then what is personal
development?
The word “personal” is defined as:
 Belonging or relating to a particular person
 Made or designed to be used by one person
 Someone whose job involves working for or helping a particular person
 Relating to or affecting a particular person
Examples:
1. This is just my personal opinion.
2. I can only tell you what I know from personal experience.
3. We do not accept personal checks.
The word “personality” is defined as:
 The set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc. that makes a person different
from other people.
 Attractive qualities (such as energy, friendliness and humor) that make a person
interesting or pleasant to be with.
 A person of importance, prominence (fame), renown, or notoriety.
Examples:
1. He has a very pleasant personality.
2. We all have different personalities.
3. He has many personality
4. He wants to buy a car that has personality.
The word “development” is defined as:
 The act or process of growing or causing something to grow or become larger or more
advanced
 The act or process of creating something over a period of time
 The state of being created or made more advanced.
WHAT IS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT?
 Human nature is very complex. In any form of scientific study including psychology,
can never completely and satisfactorily define human nature.
 Similar with other living organisms that go through the process of birth, growth,
development, regeneration and death, human beings are different as we possess
more complex capabilities such as:
 Self-awareness
 Analytical thinking Distinguish the human
 Self-evaluation aspects from the rest of the
 Motivation physical world
 Decision-making
 Reflective thought
Personal Development may be defined as a process in which persons reflect upon

themselves, understand who they are, accept what they discover about themselves and learn
(or unlearn) new sets of values, attitudes, behavior and thinking skills to reach their fullest
potential as human beings.
Zorka Hereford, 9 Essential Life Skills – A guide for Personal Development and Self
Realization, defined personal development as “the process of striving to the best that you
can in order to reach and realize your full potential. It is a journey of self-discovery, self-
improvement and self-realization.”
ORIGINS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
 The evolution of the understanding of human development may have started eons (ages)
ago when the first Homo sapiens walked the face of the earth.
 The cavemen who drew figures on their cave walls attempted to narrate their experiences
such as hunting.
 It was during the time of the Western philosophers, particularly the Greek thinkers, when
questions about the self and about being human were started to be asked.
 In Republic, which some consider to be the greatest work on the philosophy of education,
Plato argued that building character, as much as intelligence, is what education is all
about.
 Even during the early times of human development and civilization, there was already
attempt to link individual development with social responsibility.
 Even religions have influenced personal development through their adherence to many
rituals in self-discipline, meditation, prayer, physical exercises such as yoga and fasting,
and creative acts of expressions such as singing, dancing and acting.
PSYCHOLOGY and PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Psychology, being the study of human thinking and behavior, serve as a foundation for
personal development.
 The contemporary understanding of personal development started during the flourishing
of Humanistic and Positive Psychology in the 1950s which dealt with personal growth
and meaning as a way of reaching one’s fullest potentials.
 The two proponents of Humanistic Psychology were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
Self-
Actualization
Esteem
Love/belonging
Safety
Physiological
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT in ADOLESCENCE
 Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood.
 Widely believed to be between ages 11 or 12 and lasting to about 18 years of age.
 Corpuz, Lucas, Borabo and Lucido defined the three stages of adolescence as:
 Early adolescence – between 10 and 13 years of age
 Middle adolescence – between 14 and 16 years of age
 Late adolescence – between 17 and 20 years of age
 Adolescence starts with the biological changes called puberty. The physical body
undergoes growth spurts at this time, for both male and female, leading toward physical
maturity.
 Biological changes bring about cognitive (thinking and reasoning), and affective (feelings
and emotions) changes. The child, who has reached adolescence, is now capable of
reasoning about abstract concepts and problems.
 Adolescent become more inquisitive about things like philosophy, religion and politics.
This is also the stage when they begin to ask questions about their identity.
 Relationship with family and friends are also affected by puberty during adolescence.
Friends become the center of relationship more than family.
Questions:
1. How is personal development linked to psychology?
2. Give some popular slogans or phrases that are attributable to positive psychology such
as “Think Positive”.
3. How the age and stage of development of a person influence his or her personal
development?
4. Relate your spiritual/religious beliefs to personal development. How does this manifest
in terms of your day-to-day behavior at home? In school?
Elaborate:
1. How would you relate Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in your personal life?
2. How can Positive Psychology help you become happier?
3. What are your personal experiences as an adolescent in terms of the way you think,
reason, feel and the way you express yourself?
Evaluate:
1. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, where do you find yourself? What needs are being met?
What needs are not yet being met? What do you have to do to fulfill your needs so that
you can move closer toward self-actualization?
2. What are your concerns as an adolescent?
3. What is your definition of happiness? How is this related to your personal development?

Chapter1 IntroductiontoPersonalDevelopment

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Chapter1 IntroductiontoPersonalDevelopment

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CHAPTER I

Introduction to Personal Development

Human Development and Personal Development: Three aspects or domain of HD:

WHAT IS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT?

Personal Development may be defined as a process in which persons reflect upon

PSYCHOLOGY and PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

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