University of Antique

College of Arts and Sciences

First Semester
Academic Year 2020-2021

Understanding the Self (GEC 1)

LAST TOPIC FOR THE FINALS
Module 9: Managing and Caring for the Self

Starting AccUrAtely (Introduction)

To become the best of what you can be means making use of all your 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.

StimUlating LeArning (Motivation)

How can you help yourself have a better quality of life?

IncUlcAting Concepts (Inputs/Lesson Proper)

A. MINDSET

The idea of mindset is discovered by Dr. Carol Dweck, a Stanford University

Psychologist. Mindsets are beliefs about one’s self and one’s most basic qualities.

Two Types of Mindset:

1. Fixed Mindset. People with this mindset believe that their success is based on their innate
ability. They have a certain amount of brains and talents and nothing can change that. They dread
failure because it is a negative statement on their basic abilities. Their goal is to look smart all the
time.
2. Growth Mindset. People with this mindset believe that their success is based on hard work,
learning, training, and perseverance. They understand that their talents and abilities can be
developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They do not compare themselves to
others but they believe they can get smarter if they work for it. Also, they do not mind or fear failure
that much because they realize their performance can be imporved and learning comes from
failure. They reflect upon questions like: “What can I learn from this? How can I improve? How can
I help this person do it better?”

B. GOAL-SETTING
Goal-setting theory was first studied by Dr. Edwin Locke, an American psychologist
and a pioneer in goal-setting theory. Goal-setting is something most people recognize as
necessary for their success.

Five (5) Principles of Goal Setting:

1. Clarity. Clear goals are measurable and specific. It has definite time set for completion.
2. Challenge. Make each goal a challenge.
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 3. Commitment. Goals must be understood and agreed upon if they are to be effective. It
means that goals should be consistent and in line with previous expectations. The
harder the goal, the more commitment is required.
4. Feedback. This provides opportunities to clarify expectations, adjust goal, difficulty,
and gain recognition.
5. Task complexity. For goals or assignments that are highly complex, take special care
to ensure that the work does not become too overwhelming.

The whole idea of goal-setting is to facilitate a person’s success. It has to be made sure
that the surrounding conditions inspire and allow people to accomplish their objectives.

C. SUCCESS
Success is defined as the state of accomplishment or achievement resulting from an
endeavor. To King (2004), success is relative, and the term means different things to various
people. Thus, for some, success means having material possessions like a car or a house. On
the other hand, some people think of success as having a good family life, a happy home, a
feeling of contentment or ease, or always being in love. King further believes that success
means not only being able to achieve or fulfil one’s goals, but also having positive feelings of
happiness, joy, love, peace of mind, self-respect, greatness, and freedom from worry, anxiety,
guilt, or failure. He states that many people associate success with the acquisition or
possession of tangible or material things; but the very root of success is the positive feelings
that come with accomplishment and achievement.

King (2004) raises three important questions you can ask yourself to help you understand life
itself:

1. What is my life for? This requires a long and thorough look within yourself, your abilities, your
characteristics, your interests, and the like, as well as your weaknesses.

2. What do I want to happen to my life? This question requires you to have a clear picture of
your goals—both short-range and long-range.

3. How can I achieve it? This requires you to know how to accomplish your goals. Do you have
the resources and the support to achieve your goals?

D. TAKING CARE OF ONE’S HEALTH

As you strive to reach your goals, obstacles get in the way and the surrounding conditions
become unfavorable, then stress is very much of an invitation. We can cope by being optimistic,
have personal control or mastery, have positive and high self-esteem, and have strong social
support.

A. SELF-CARE THERAPY
A positive way to counter stress is self-care therapy. Here are the steps for self-care (Apperson,
2008):
1. “Stop, breathe and tell yourself: This is hard and I will get through this one step at a
time.” During an unexpected event or crisis, we are faced with dealing with a new reality
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 and it takes time to incorporate what happened into our everyday lives. Identify the steps
you need to take first, write them down, and focus on each step one at a time. Remember,
you can only do one thing at a time and focus exclusively on that one thing.
2. Acknowledge to yourself, what you are feeling. All feelings are normal so accept
whatever you are feeling. Find a comfortable place to express your feelings. It may be so
hard to hold back your feelings, particularly your tears and anger. It is normal to grieve, to
be sad or to be angry but it is important to own your feelings and not hurt yourself or lash
out at someone else.
3. Find someone who listens and is accepting. You do not need advice. You need to be
heard. Sharing our story is how we begin to accept whatever happened and integrate it into
our new reality.
4. Maintain your normal routine as much as possible. Keep doing your familiar activity. Be
realistic with what you can do. Avoid making decisions based on the stress you feel right
now.
5. Allow plenty of time for a task. Accept how much you are able to do right now and
recognize it will not be this way forever. Be gentle and accepting of yourself and what you
can do.
6. Take good care of yourself. Remember to :
a. Get enough rest and sleep of at least six hours and not more than nine hours.
b. Eat regularly and make healthy choices. Skipping meals, particularly breakfast,
contributes to fatigue, mood swings, and poor concentration.
c. Know your limits and when you need to let go.
d. Identify or create a nurturing place in your home. It may be a rocking chair, a nice
view or a soothing music.
e. Practice relaxation or meditation. Visit your nurturing place and take mental vacation
in the midst of stress.

B. REASONS WHY SELF-CARE IS NECESSARY:

a. It increases sense of self-love, allowing appreciation and acceptance of who a person is.
b. It promotes a feeling of calm and relaxation, serving as a way to refocus and come back
to daily life refreshed and ready to take on anything.
c. It improves both physical and mental health by reducing the effects of prolonged stress
on mind and body.
C. WAYS TO ENGAGE IN SELF-CARE
a. Physical Self-care: Eating well, exercising regularly, prioritizing sleep and taking care of
health.
b. Emotional Self-care: Managing anxiety, anger, sadness, and other emotions.
c. Spiritual Self-care: Volunteering, connecting with nature, meditation, mindfulness.

To take care of the self is also to delve into compassion; that is, to treat yourself as
compassionately as you treat others. We need to love and care for ourselves so we can be able to
love and care for others.

Conclusion/Generalization:
Knowing oneself is among the most difficult and most complicated pursuits in one’s life. This is
very vital to you who are very vulnerable at this stage. Issues of self and identity are among the most
critical for you. It is, therefore, the goal of this course to facilitate the exploration of your concerns and
issues regarding self and identity to arrive at a better understanding of yourself. May it be that you are
now enabled to manage and improve yourselves to attain a better quality of life.

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References: Alata, E. J., Caslib, B., Serafica, J. P., & Pawilen, R. (2018). Understanding the
Self. Quezon City: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Brawner, D., & Arcega, A. (2018). Understanding the Self. Quezon City: C & E
Publishing, Inc.
Villafuerte, S., Quillope, A., Tunac, R., & Borja, E. (2018). Understanding the
Self. Quezon City, Phiippines: Nieme Publishing House Co. Ltd.