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COURSE/SUBJECT: Self-Discovery
MODULE NO: 1
MODULE TITLE: Begin Your Journey with Self-Discovery
TOPIC: Introduction and Overview of Self-Discovery
FACILITATOR: Lovely G. Barrameda, RPm

THE DOMINICAN BLESSING

May God the Father bless us,
May God the Son heal us,
May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and
give us eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and
hands to do the work of God with,
feet to walk with, and
a mouth to preach the word of salvation with,
and the angel of peace to watch over us and lead
us at last, by our Lord’s gift, to the kingdom.
Amen.

OBJECTIVES:

I should be able to identify the various facets of self-discovery and understand its significance
in my psychosocial and career development through identifying its key concepts, recognizing
its role in my areas of self-assessment, and integrate the different processes under Personal
Development as I self-reflect on whom I really am and what I really want to do.

Module Introduction and Focus Question(s):

A deep sense of self-knowledge and identity is achieved through self-discovery. Of

course, we all know ourselves on some level. At this stage of your life you might as well be
thinking, I already know who I am! However, have you ever stopped to consider examining your
life and figure out the parts of yourself that is changing or missing? Why is there a need to
recognize your strengths? What do you feel about your weaknesses? How well do you know
yourself and how do you want to be known? How do you start with self-discovery? What does it
mean to have self-knowledge? Is self-discovery a one-time process? Does self-discovery
translate to fulfilment?

STUDY
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Have you ever had questions that you repeatedly ask to yourself? If there are, can you
try to remember them? Now, there are probably significant reasons why you’re curious in
knowing these questions about yourself and life. There is little doubt that people are diverse and
change over the course of their lives. Often times, some people think of already knowing who
they are, yet still experience difficulty in gaining knowledge and understanding some parts of
themselves. Try to think of cirscumstances where in you were so sure of what you wanted or
have not once doubted yourself. It could be decisions or choices you’ve made, a childhood
dream you’re pursuing to fulfill, or it could also be the ideas, principles and values you’ve been
going by for the longest time in your life.
Now, what can you say about these circumstances and yourself? Have you uncovered or
re-discovered something about you? Some people like to ask themselves about their passions,
self-worth, ideal self, goals and dreams, happiness, and motivation. It gives them a sense of
self and awareness on who they are.
Self-discovery is a life-long process of exploring the inner-self. One way to start this journey
is through the practice of reflecting. Inner self-reflection is a highly useful exercise that provides
individuals an opportunity to discover who they are, empowerment, and confidence in achiveing
their goals in life.
To start your own personal journey of self-discovery, try answering these self-reflective
questions on the worksheets below. Answer it will all honesty.

SELF-DISCOVERY
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Knowing the depths of who you are, realizing what you want to be, and finding out what
you want to do can be the most important and challenging adventure a person can have in their
life. Just as the saying “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” goes by, it is
essential to seek self-understanding in order to become successful, centered, and healthy
individuals. However, there are times we tend to over-estimate ourselves because of not lending
time for introspection or maybe even resist it. These cause our lack of self-awareness and
thwart our ability to see our authentic self.
As you begin to explore opportunities and expand your horizons towards life, self-
exploration is the place to start in shaping your future goals. Self-exploration according to
Ryan Howes, Ph.D., psychologist, writer and professor in Pasadena, California involves looking
at your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors and motivations and asking why. It is looking for the
roots of who we are that answers to all the questions we have about ourselves.
Knowing about oneself specifically one’s skills, interests, values, and personality is vital in
making good decisions and in exploring fields. Having a deeper understanding about yourself
comes in many benefits. For instance, it serves as a guide to set you up on the right track. One
can avoid dilemmas and be more efficient in choosing the right career path that matches their
skills and competencies. Another advantage of having self-awareness is the ability to identify
strengths, limitations and articulate skills and interests. Helping youths identify and use their
strengths is critical. It is considered as one of the main factors that motivate them to develop the
skills they need to succeed (Youth Center for Community Action, 2020).

DEFINITION OF SELF-DISCOVERY
Self-discovery is a lifelong journey that is always focused on growing, changing, and
maximizing potentials. Oftentimes, we strive hard to find our authentic self and translate it into
something that would enable us to efficiently achieve what we want to do in life. Nurturing a
deep sense of self-knowledge will help us be efficient and effective in the areas of life that we
will pursue.
Self-discovery in actual definition is as an act of exploring our individual
personalities, natural preferences, values, beliefs, preferred styles, and tendencies. Erik
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Erikson, a developmental psychologist argued that it takes purposeful effort — in the form
of exploration of one’s choices actively that helps an individual achieve full knowledge of self
and to establish identity (Lumen: Child and Adolescent Psychology). Therefore, as we start to
explore career options, we must first assess our interests, values, and personality to develop an
understanding of our technical, and transferable skills (Yale Office of Career Strategy, 2020).
Embarking on self-discovery gives us the opportunity to understand who we are and what we
want out of life. This includes assessing and recognizing our strengths, capabilities, and
experiences which are considered as factors that might affect our career preferences, decision-
making, and lifestyle expectations.
Educational institutions are one of the places that foster an environment of curiosity
and exploration. It greatly contributes to the transformative experience of the students as this
sector of society highly engages students not only in deep critical learning, but in realizing their
authentic self as well. This form of encouragement is vital in the search for purpose and
reinvention of the self.
Self-discovery is almost every aspect of personal development. Exploring these
aspects of ourselves means discovering our ways towards finding our authentic selves and
pursuing a more holistic development. It also enables us to have a clear grasp of who we are
and accept ourselves putting lesser need in the approval of other people. This greatly helps us
build a more connected and authentic relationship with the people around us.
How many times have you heard people of not being happy in their jobs? Perhaps,
you might even know someone who does not know what to do and wants to do in their life. Self-
discovery is also important in exploring and developing your career. By identifying your
strengths and abilities, you will know when and how to leverage and develop them. Exploring
yourself means to also discover your own passions, purpose, personal motivation, and needs in
the other areas of your life. Because you know these parts of yourself, you will have a clearer
grasp of these concepts and how to utilize them. In return, it would be easier to find the path of
what you really want to pursue and make you happy not only in your career endeavors, but in
every aspect of your life.
Your physical and psychosocial health also benefits when you truly know yourself.
Self-discovery helps us be mentally healthy when we become mindful, more understanding, and
accepting of ourselves. It gives us more control of our emotions, decisions, and choices.
Exercising self-care practices also leads us to develop a deeper care and consideration for our
physical health and in return, helps us enjoy living a healthier lifestyle.
Participating in self-discovery helps us find the building blocks of our authentic self. It
gives us self-empowerment and the courage to remain true in the constantly changing society.

IMPORTANCE OF DISCOVERING YOURSELF

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Having a profound understanding of yourself and your motivations will help

you achieve an informed and productive career search process. Below are the areas of self-
assessment and their importance to career planning:

1. IDENTITY- Knowing thyself and having confidence in your identity will help you
explore careers and achieve future goals in life. Individuals are diverse based on
their unique personalities, which may include many identities and characteristics
that intersect. Some of these identities may be based upon their communities
and life experiences. Your identities may be closely tied to your values, interests,
social contexts, and self-image.
2. INTERESTS- Interests represent things you like to learn about or do as
hobbies. Think about anything you enjoy spending your time doing. These
interests may give clues to the kinds of careers and jobs you’d enjoy.
3. PERSONALITY- Personality is a combination of qualities that form your
distinctive character. These influence how you see, experience, and interact with
the world. We all have certain characteristics that feel more comfortable and
natural, such as how we gain energy, perceive information, make decisions,
and organize our external environments.
4. VALUES- Values are the beliefs and qualities you consider most important in
your career and life. Although they may change over time, you usually keep
these throughout your life and they define what is meaningful to you. Values play
an integral role in career satisfaction. You’ve gained competencies (skills and
knowledge) through many of your life experiences. Think about the skills that
you’ve used inside and outside of the classroom. You may have developed them
through studies, extracurricular activities, clubs, internships, study abroad, and
life experiences unique to you. Which skills do you excel in?

According to a 2016 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges

and Employers (NACE), the top qualities/skills employers seek in hires are:

Ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside

the organization
Ability to work in a team structure
Ability to make decisions and solve problems
Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work
Ability to obtain and process information
Ability to analyze quantitative data
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5. LIKES AND DISLIKES- Reflect on your previous experiences and think

about what you liked or disliked in each position. This process may
provide you insights about what you like and affect your future career
choices.

In addition to the previous examples, we can also explore these aspects of personal
development with self-discovery:
6. DISCOVERING YOUR PASSIONS
7. FIGURING OUT YOUR PURPOSE
8. FINDING OUT WHAT MOTIVATES YOU
9. DISCOVERING YOUR MENTAL CAPABILITIES

BENEFITS OF SELF-DISCOVERY

A period of self-reflection can help you:

● Learn about yourself to help you identify options for a new career and/or field
when you are considering a career transition.
● Become a foundation for making decisions about which fields and work situations
are best for you (job function, industry, types of companies).
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● Understand on how to respond and behave in certain situations, and how your
behavior can enhance or help derail your success.
● Enhance your self-esteem as you begin to explore and see your unique skills and
contributions.
● See patterns and themes and provide a focus for prioritizing options for moving
forward.
● Understand what differentiates yourself from others in the marketplace so that
you can more effectively market "your career brand."

THE BENEFITS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE

It is no question that gaining self-knowledge brings in many great advantages. In a nutshell,
below are a few reasons of why you might want to pursue participating in discovering yourself:

● Happiness. You will be happier when you can express who

you are. Expressing your desires will make it more likely that you get what you want.

● Less inner conflict. When your outside actions are in

accordance with your inside feelings and values, you will experience less inner conflict.

● Better decision-making. When you know yourself, you

are able to make better choices about everything, from small decisions like which
sweater you’ll buy to big decisions like which partner you’ll spend your life with. You'll
have guidelines you can apply to solve life’s varied problems.
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● Self-control. When you know yourself, you understand what

motivates you to resist bad habits and develop good ones. You'll have the insight to
know which values and goals activate your willpower.

● Resistance to social pressure. When you are grounded in

your values and preferences, you are less likely to say “yes” when you want to say “no.”

● Tolerance and understanding of others. Your awareness of

your own foibles and struggles can help you empathize with others.

● Vitality and pleasure. Being who you truly are helps you
feel more alive and makes your experience of life richer, larger, and more exciting.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
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The illustration above shows the four components of our Personal Development

1. SELF-DISCOVERY
The process of self-discovery is broken down into four segments:

1. Self-awareness- increasing understanding of who

you are, your personal characteristics, your tendencies, your emotions,
your needs, and your value.

2. Interest awareness- establishing your personal

interests

3. Realizing your hopes & dreams - listing your

hopes and dreams for the future.
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4. Career discovery- finding a career that

corresponds to your personality and interest
2. SELF-DEVELOPMENT
-is a process of consciously improving oneself in various aspects of his or her
life. It is the conscious pursuit of personal growth by improving personal skills,
competencies, talents and knowledge. However, the key component to self-
development is the growth of one’s personal self in order to seek self-fulfillment and
proactively reach your fullest potential.

3. SELF-MASTERY
-is the ability to recognize, understand, control, and make the most out of your physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual self. It is gained thorough awareness, understanding,
and control over your thoughts, emotions, and actions.

BENEFITS OF SELF-MASTERY
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1. Ability to control yourself in any given situation

2. Ability to move easier forward towards your goals with discipline,
persistence and focus.
3. Provides clarity on what is important to you.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION
-is seeking personal growth through peak experiences in order to realize your
fullest potential and reach self-fulfillment. It is often thought of or viewed as a destination
or a process, but is really a state of being.
-If you move at a steady pace focusing on your surroundings and learning from
your experiences, you will move in the direction of self-actualization

ABRAHAM MASLOW & THE HIERARCHY OF HUMAN

NEEDS
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The concept of self-actualization was popularized by

Abraham Maslow in his theory on the human hierarchy of needs. He postulated in
his theory that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to the more
advanced needs. He also believes that people have an inborn desire to be self-
actualized. That is, to be all they can be. In his hierarchy Maslow regarded self-
actualization as the highest level of human need as shown in the illustration below :

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

End of STUDY

RESEARCH
Activity #1

Purpose: Starting on the Road to Self -

As you answer the questions from this worksheet it is imperative that you NOT censor
yourself or hold back on writing down any goal, dream or wish. This worksheet is not
Discovery
designed to become a 'to do' list for you, nor are you to feel obligated to fulfil anything
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The purpose of this worksheet is for you to capture a better view of your most important
likes, interests, and values you will use to help guide you through current and future
decisions. So stop and listen to yourself, you might be surprised! Use what you learn
and continue to learn as your own anchor, when faced with decisions or choices.
∙ Five things I value most right now. (i.e. community, honesty, justice, time with
family, personal organization, success, deep relationships, etc.)
1. Time
2. Studies
3. Rest
4. Myself
5. Deep Relationships
∙ Top things I need most to improve my life today:
o At home I need:
At home, I need to do my duties as a first born and to strengthen our bond
as a family.

o At school I need:
At school, I need to be more focused on my studies. I need to push myself
to learn and understand the lessons every day. I truly need to do my best at
all times because it is only for my own good and for my future

o From myself I need (to start, or to stop):

I need to value myself, learn to love/appreciate myself and understand me
myself. I really need to stop and control my overthinking.

o For my health I need (to start, or to stop):

For my health, I need to start getting back into the habit of exercising/
working out and I need to eat more healthy foods like vegetables. I need to stop
on sleeping so late and to stop eating so much junk foods and soft drinks.
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∙ Three important things important to me I can accomplish in the next 12 months.

1. being physically fit, having a greater body
2. improve my sleeping habits
3. having an proper diet, eating healthy foods.
∙ Three ways I would like to be a better person in the next 12 months.
1. To think rationally and calmly.
2. learning on how to embrace change.
3. having confidence on myself
∙ Three things I am (or could be) most proud of about myself and/or my life to
date.
1. Thinking rationally and calmly in every situation.
2. learning eventually little by little on knowing and loving myself and with progress.
3. having self-discipline
∙ The types of people that I need to be around who best match my values and
goals in life are:
Those people that are true to me and wants me too in their life. Having empathy,
understands also on what the other is feeling.

∙ What I believe I am here to accomplish (or contribute) to the world is: (Think
broader than school major or career related ideas only - Respond in 20 words or
less!)
Being a good role model and being an inspiration on others. Being a legend.

∙ What matters to me most in my life? (Do not leave blank, if you are not 100%
sure, write down what you think it might be)
What matters to me the most in my life is my family which includes like loved ones,
friends and who are close to my heart like that.
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∙ The top 5 behaviors, traits, or qualities I will leave this world being known for in
my lifetime.
Source of Happiness
Love
Optimistic
Being true and real like integrity
leadership

∙ Now, with all this in mind, the first thing I need to do is:
Sign below and make a commitment to use what you have discovered as your initial
map to your future choices.

Isaiah Raj M. Meneses September 7, 2021

Signature Date

Bravo to you - you took time to truly listen to yourself! Now, keep your answers
close to you as they will remind and motivate you toward what is most important
to you this year. Add, update or modify this information as you further clarify the
information and your understanding of yourself.
ACTIVITY # 2

WORKSHEET: Self- INTERESTS

Discovery The subjects that I am most interested in
What subjects,
activities, or are those that are related to business.
things interest Outdoor activities like basketball and
Use the following biking are among my favorite activities.
you?
questions to think about The things that I am most interested in are
who you are and what you things that have to do with money and
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want for your future. business.

ABILITIES
What can you do
well? I know how to cook and I guess I can learn
and do the things that ask me to do.

VALUES
AND I value the most in my life is love and
PRIORITIES integrity.
What do you My family and loved ones are the most
value in life? important to me.
What is most
important to
you?

MONEY
The kind of lifestyle I want is a luxurious
MATTERS lifestyle because I want to spoil my family
What kind of and loved ones by giving them anything
lifestyle do you what they want. Hard work, faith and
want? How believe in yourself.
much will it cost
to live that
lifestyle?

PHYSICAL
FACTORS
Do you want a Yes/kind of I want a job that challenges
job that me in order to have a luxurious life style
challenges you but in a greater and honest work.
physically? Do
you need help
with physical
tasks?
ACADEMIC I want to get good grades and grasp the
What are your subjects/lessons completely. I want to be a
CPA, and I want to finish my
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academic goals? undergraduate education and next is to

What kind of prepare for the licensure exam
degree do you
want? How long
are you willing to
stay in school?
Processing questions:
1. What insights have you gained in the activities?
I learned more about myself like for example what I want or improve to myself.

2. How did you find the activity? Was it easy or difficult to determine the answers to
the self-reflective questions? Explain.
I find the activity quite difficulty because it requires deep thinking and
understanding about yourself.
3. Did you discover anything new about yourself upon answering the worksheets?
Elaborate your answer.
Yes, I discovered new things about myself like about being better, traits and
characteristics that I need to change and improve on myself.

4. What part of the activity/questions struck you most? Explain.

Here is the question that struck me the most “What matters to me most in my life?”
because It made me literally spaced out for a couple of minutes and thought
about what really matters to me the most.

5. Going through evaluating your answers in the said worksheet, what can you infer
about yourself in the present?
After evaluating my answers in this worksheet, I can infer about myself that I
really need to understand myself, and focus on being better.

END OF RESEARCH

ANALYSIS
Your main goal in this phase is to be able to evaluate your learning and
insights through critical analysis, comparison and contrast of related
self-discovery concepts and approaches.
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END OF ANALYSIS
ACTION
Performance task:
Mindful art journaling is an increasingly popular practice that involves being aware of and
expressing your mood, thoughts, and surroundings as you create artwork in your own safe
place, your journal. It can also be a way to express your goals and dreams visually.
The art of finding yourself depends on your hands. As you self-reflect, your task is to
create your own personal art journal that demonstrates your authentic self. Incorporate all the
learning and insights you have gained in the module as well as your expectations in your self-
discovery journey. Create 3 art pieces (either digital or physical art) in your journal with captions
that best explain your works.
Sample:

RUBRIC

PROFICIENT COMPETENT DEVELOPING NOT EVIDENT

CRITERIA
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The content of the

Most of the output Some of the Student did not
output is
is complete. output is submitted any
complete and
Completion Missed one part complete. activity output.
very
(25) of the task. Missed two parts
comprehensive
of the plan. No credit
(15-24) (1-14) (0)
(25)
Output is
The output is The output is
The output is neat disorderly with
incredibly neat with several
Neatness with few erasures, many errors,
with no erasures, erasures, tears
(10) tears or smudges. tears and
tears or smudges. or smudges.
(7-9) smudges.
(10) (5-6)
(1-4)
Explicitly and
clearly expresses Activity output
Relevance, Activity output Activity output
ideas relevant was received on
Creativity, was received was received
to the module the submission
and after the during the next
topic. Activity of the final
Originality of schedule. meeting.
seems to be requirement.
Work
original and
(25) (20-24) (10-19)
artistic. (1-9)
(25)
Most parts of the Some parts of Student was not
All parts of the out
output were the output were meticulous in
were meticulously
Work Shown meticulously meticulously doing the
shown.
(40) shown. shown. activity output.
(31-40)
(21-30) (11-20) (0-10)

SCORE 100

END OF ACTION

CLOSURE:
SELF ASSESSMENT

Topics Proficient Competent Developing

Introduction and Overview of

Self-discovery
The Importance of Self-
discovery
The Self-discovery Process
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CLOSING PRAYER
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
St. Dominic De Guzman, pray for us.
Amen.

REFERENCES:
Washington University in St. Louis. (n.d.). Self-Exploration. Retrieved from
https://hr.wustl.edu/develop-and-learn/career-development/self-exploration/.
Chaudhary Charan Singh University. (n.d.). Human Values and Professional Ethics.
Retrieved from https://ccsuniversity.ac.in/bridge-library/pdf/MCA-I_HVPE-Sample-Questions.pdf
Destiny’s Odyssey. (n.d.). Self-Discovery. Retrieved from
https://destinysodyssey.com/personal-development/self-discovery/

Berger, V. (2005). Personal Growth and Development. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/psychologist/psychologist_personal_gro
wth.htm
Mqcaid, M. (2015). Can You Turn You’re Weaknesses Into Strength? Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/functioning-flourishing/201502/can-you-turn-your-
weaknesses-strength.
Skills You Need. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/planning-
personal-development.html.
Cantley, P., Little, K., & Martin, J. E. (2010). ME! Lessons for Teaching Self-Awareness
and Self-Advocacy. Retrieved July 16, 2020, from http://www.ou.edu/content/education/centers-
and-partnerships/zarrow/trasition-education-materials/me-lessons-for-teaching-self-awareness-
and-self-advocacy.html
University of Minnesota. (n.d.). The Cognitive Self: Self Concept. Retrieved from
https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialpsychology/chapter/4-1-the-cognitive-self-the-self-concept/
McLeod, S. (2019). Social Identity Theory. Retrieved from
https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html