Self–Awareness and Values Clarification Seminar

Self–Awareness and Values Clarification Seminar

The whole day seminar really was awesome! It made a great impact on me. How? It is because of the fact that everything I personally experienced and learned can, in a way, enable me to know more about myself. For example, we had this personality test wherein we were asked to draw a pig. Out of the drawing which we drew, the guidance councilor gave us the interpretations. After interpreting, the guidance councilor told us that the characteristics of the pig are a reflection of what we are! I then realized that the interpretation was precisely correct! According to the guidance councilor, my pig was realistic or practical, direct or innovative, and emotional or naïve and feels secure but stubborn at times because the pig sticks to its ideals. That pig is me.

I learned so many things throughout the seminar. For the self-awareness part, I knew that there are three steps in the creation process which are self-awareness, self-acceptance and taking ownership. Based on what I learned, self-awareness is the first step in the creation process. Moreover, we ourselves are the so-called “experts” of ourselves. Second step is self-acceptance. For this step to be developed, one must have the characteristics of being honest, courageous and being realistic which are necessary pre-requisites. Finally, in the step of taking ownership, it connotes that one should realize that he/she has the power to make his/her life happy.

In addition to the self-creation process, I also learned about the Johari window where the “self” is divided into four parts or windows which are: public self, private self, blind spot and potential self. Public self states that the person him/herself and others know that the characteristic is in him/her. The private self is where one has traits but others can not see it. Thus, people who belong to this window tend to be very secretive. For those who belong to the blind spot, these are the people who portray a good, responsible person however back at home, the person is the exact opposite. Finally, for those who belong to the potential self, these are people who are not aware that they can have these traits.

Values can be defined as principles, ideas, beliefs, and ideals that we cherish. It can be either instrumental, which are values in adjective form and refers to our personal characteristics, or terminal, which are values that we need to work for so that it can be developed. During the part two of the seminar which is the values clarification part, I learned that there are four things I ought to keep in mind. They are as follows: 1) I have to believe that I am capable of changing now; 2) I believe that my life is my responsibility; 3) I believe that my values determine my attitude and behavior and; 4) I believe that if I set my sights in a new direction, I will arrive near the place I wanted to be.

So based from what I learned throughout the seminar, I intend to apply my realizations. I ought to balance the four windows of myself to become a better person. I should not be secretive, boastful, plastic, and I should never be such an introvert! In addition, I must inculcate in my mind and heart the four important things regarding life which was tackled during the values clarification part of the seminar.

I am really thankful to the people behind the implementation of this seminar. It is because I learned new things that can aid me to become a more wholesome person emotionally/mentally and socially. The only recommendation I can give is that the seminar should be an overnight activity. That is all. Good day!