A.Y.

2022-2023
2nd Semester

INDUSTRY READINESS
(IndRe)

Presented by:
Prof. RELDINO R. AQUINO, MBA

1
What is Self-Understanding?

Self-understanding is your
ability to understand who
you are and what led to
who you are.

You understand your

thoughts, feelings, and
actions, as well as
the why behind them.

This recognition of your

motivations helps you
develop your sense of
identity.
 Essentially, it
encompasses the
answer to the
question, “Who am I?”
with the evidence to
support it.

Having an
understanding of self
includes both aspects:
an answer to yourself
and knowing how it
came about.
 What is Self-Awareness?

Self-awareness and self-

understanding are sometimes
used interchangeably, and that’s
not a bad thing. However, if you
want to distinguish the two, you
can think of self-awareness as the
first step to understanding of self.

Self-awareness is being aware of

yourself and your life. Before you
can understand why you do
something, you’ve got to
recognize what you’re doing in
the first place. This means
identifying your thoughts,
emotions, and behaviors in the
present moment.
Being self-aware also encompasses things like your values,
aspirations, and patterns, among others.
Self-concept is the label you give
yourself when answering the
question “Who am I?” It’s how you
see yourself and, more importantly,
the words you use when describing
how you see yourself.

Our sense of identity is a

complicated thing, but it begins with
our self-concept.

It’s crucial to understand that self-

concept is the end of the statement,
“I am…” It is not the end of the
statement “I feel…” This distinction
is because self-concept takes on a
more permanent nature.
Our Behaviors Create Our Identity:
How to Change Your Self-Concept
Our Behaviors Create Our Identity: How to Change Your Self-Concept

We wrongly believe that our thinking changes our

identity, and then our changed behaviors follow. For
example, I might be a super anxious person. I’ll think
to myself, I’m going to be a calmer person, deciding on
a new self-concept. Then, I assume that my “new”
self-concept will help me do more yoga, meditate,
and achieve this new persona.

Our brains don’t work that way. In fact, they work the
reverse.
 Our Behaviors Create Our Identity: How to Change Your Self-Concept

See, our brains like evidence to be persuaded of something. The

more evidence, the stronger conclusions they can draw.
Therefore, to get our brain to develop this new self-concept,
we’ve got to start doing the things that prove the self-concept to
be true.

For example, if I begin to do more yoga and meditation, my brain

will begin to believe I’m a calmer person. Eventually, I will be able
to define myself as such.

Dr. Ben Hardy calls this “building identity capital.” And it’s
important to note when thinking about self-understanding.
Conclusion: Self-Understanding, Self-Awareness, and Self-Concept
The abundance of psychological literature on “self” can be
overwhelming. Don’t get bogged down in the nitty-gritty distinctions and
explanations. Instead, put your focus on the benefits of self-
understanding and how to develop your own understanding of self.
You can start by following these six strategies:
1. Become more self-aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions
2. Notice how you talk to yourself
3. Learn to silence your Inner Critic
4. Ask yourself better questions
5. Seek feedback from others
6. Always stay open to rethinking your identity
REFERENCE

What is Self-Understanding: How to Improve Your Self-Concept

Clarity / By KaraMcD / August 19, 2021
Understanding Yourself and Others (Self-awareness) is
the capacity to look inward and understand our own
feelings, emotions, stressors, and personality. These
key understandings play a critical role in influencing our
judgments, decisions, and interactions with other
people. Some of these emotions, stressors, and
personality traits may have altered as a result of the
events surrounding COVID-19. There is no better time
than the present to look inward as a means of improving
your individual well-being.
There are many benefits to practicing self-awareness,
which may include:
▪ Helping you understand yourself in relation to
others
▪ Helping you understand why you are feeling a
certain way
▪ Empowers you to manage yourself effectively
▪ Enables you to continue to build and develop
meaningful relationships
▪ Improves your awareness of friends, family, and co-
workers
If you are looking to practice self-awareness, here’s a
few tips to help you get started:

1. Self-Reflection: Self-reflection involves asking yourself

questions that focus on your behaviors and attitudes, such as:
▪ What causes me to be optimistic or pessimistic?
▪ What provides me stress, or, alternatively, a sense of calm?
▪ What am I thankful for today?
When participating in self-reflection, it’s important to focus on
your strengths and challenges. It’s easy to be hard on yourself
during this process- you are your own toughest critic! Give
yourself the opportunity to explore things that provide you with a
sense of happiness, gratitude and joy.
2. Journaling: Journaling allows you to set goals and achieve
those goals. It also helps to boost your memory and
comprehension, while improving your communication skills.
Journaling is a practice that reduce stress while encouraging
organizational skills. Journaling can help improve your general
mood specifically by:
1. Helping you prioritize any stressors or concerns
2. Provide an opportunity for positive self-talk
3. Assisting in processing your experiences

Research says that one 15-30 minute session can provide many
of the benefits listed above.
3. Social-awareness is the process of looking outwards, and
understanding the feelings, emotions, and stressors of others – e.g.,
family members, friends, or work colleagues. Those who have a strong
grasp on self-awareness can make this a greater priority. Some easy
ways to practice social awareness include:

▪ Understand what it means to listen

▪ Pay attention to non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body
language, or punctuation used in written communication
▪ Check in with your teammates or family members to see how they’re
doing
▪ Avoid the “Drive By” conversation
Usually happens on an instant messenger. A person will quickly sign on, leave
URBANDICTIONARY you a rude remark, and then sign off before you have the chance to
respond. It'd be harder to do in a person to person conversation because you
could easily kill them.
References: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/style/journaling-
benefits.html, https://www.insperity.com/blog/social-
awareness/, https://advice.shinetext.com/articles/five-self-reflection-
questions-to-ask-yourself-while-social-distancing/
Managing others may not be complex, but it is certainly not
easy.
Albert Einstein once said, “Politics is more difficult than
physics.” The same might be said of the practice of
management.
Managing others may not be complex, but it is certainly not
easy. What often appear to be simple, straightforward
principles can be deceptively difficult to implement.

It starts with knowing yourself—what really motivates you,

your strengths and blind spots. Really understanding yourself
can be a difficult and enlightening process. The more accurate
and nuanced your understanding of yourself is, the greater your
chances of being able to put yourself in environments and
situations that play to your strengths.
Armed with this internal insight, you then can begin to
understand organizational culture—and how to survive and
thrive in varied cultures.

For example, what are the norms, what is acceptable, what is

expected, what is taboo? Through purposeful observation
and communication, you can gather this important
knowledge. Then, pause to see if there is a match between
your motivations, strengths and goals, and the culture of
which you are a part. If there is not a match, it could mean
more obstacles to overcome in your quest for a rewarding
experience.
Next, you can drill down into understanding the best
approach for getting results. While this varies by organization,
and often varies by department within an organization, there
are a variety of ways to maximize your ability to be successful
on the job. It’s learning how to influence others in this
environment—how to manage your team, how to manage
your boss and how to work with peers. It’s about influence
and persuasion. It’s also about mapping your strengths and
weaknesses with those around you, and understanding how
your actions influence your ability to get things done.
This brings you back to managing yourself to manage your
career. How good are you at understanding and managing
others? What strengths should you play up? What do you
need to do to the next level in your career—or perhaps to a
new career? It’s an iterative, interesting cycle and important
to continually evaluate how you are doing along these various
dimensions.

Just like a circle has no “end,” neither does the process of

managing yourself and others. And that’s what makes it
interesting.
About the Author
•Harvard Professional Development
Self Awareness
What is self-awareness? And how can you cultivate it?

When we see something we don’t immediately like in ourselves, our first reaction could be to defend ourselves from
it, which is partly why self-awareness is so challenging. Gabriel Alcala / for NBC News
We tend to think we're self aware, but we're not. Here's
how to get better at it.

But what precisely does it mean to be self-aware? How

did self-awareness emerge as a venerable trait and how
do you cultivate it?

‘Self-awareness’ centers on recognizing and managing

our emotions.
By Nicole Spector
“In effect, self-awareness is the recognition of one's own emotional
state at any given point in time,” Duffy says. “The argument suggests
that we are, far too often, wholly unaware of the emotional state we are
currently in, and the degree to which that state influences our behavior
and thought process. To the degree that we can manage our emotional
states, we are better able to manage these other elements of our lives as
well.”

Amy McManus, a marriage and family therapist adds that “self-

awareness is [also] the ability to look at your own words and actions
from a perspective outside of yourself; to see yourself as others see
you.”
By Nicole Spector
We tend to think we’re self-aware — when we’re not
“Social scientists have discovered that people often grossly
overestimate their level of self-awareness,” says Tara Well, associate
professor of psychology at Barnard College.

Katie Krimer, a licensed clinical social worker adds that many

people “feel that they know and understand themselves much better
than they actually do. They may even have avoided building self-
awareness because it involves looking at oneself as honestly as
possible, and this can often invoke feelings of shame that can be
difficult to handle.”
By Nicole Spector
Self-awareness is a vital skill in a fulfilling life
In any case, self-awareness is an important practice to develop.

“In the past, [lack of self-awareness] might have been written off as a benign
human quirk, but as our world becomes increasingly complex, the need for
self-awareness is growing to paramount importance,” says

Well. “Self-awareness may be the most vital skill we have to navigate our
future challenges.”

Duffy adds that “if you can manage your own emotions, you are more than
likely able to exert an impact on the emotional vibe of a family, a work
situation, or a social encounter. All of that is to say, self-awareness can be
incredibly useful in driving a more aware, fulfilled life.”
By Nicole Spector
Here are some tips to cultivate self-awareness
If you want to cultivate or enhance self-awareness,
here’s what mental health experts recommend:
1. Be curious about who you are

“To be self-aware, a person needs to be curious about themselves,”

says Ana Jovanovic, psychologist and life coach at Parenting Pod. “Our
minds and bodies are territories for which we yet need road maps. Every
person has some roads they do not wish to take, and some roads they feel
are worth exploring. How far you’ll go in your journey of understanding
yourself depends on what you’re ready to explore and experience.”
By Nicole Spector
2. Let your walls down
When we see something we don’t immediately like in ourselves, our first
reaction could be to defend ourselves from it, which is partly why self-
awareness is so challenging.
Try to let go of judgment and the instinctual urge to protect yourself.
“You become self-aware through a willingness to let go of defensiveness,
and an openness to seeing yourself in a way that is different from what
you have always assumed,” says McManus.
“Often this means you have to be willing to see yourself in a less-than-
positive light.”

By Nicole Spector
3. Look in the mirror — literally
“In my own research, I teach people to use mirrors as a meditation tool
that increases their self-awareness,” says Well. “When people first look
at themselves, they are often very critical. I teach them how to shift their
perspective and use their reflection for deeper self-awareness.

They learn to track their attention and emotions and gain new insights
into how their thoughts are affecting them in real time — this sort of
mimics face-to-face conversations that involve deep listening and being
fully present with another person.”

By Nicole Spector
4. Keep a journal and note what triggers positive
feelings
“Journaling is a great way to start this process of being mindful,”
says Celeste Viciere, a licensed mental health clinician. “As you are
journaling, pay attention to your day. Ask yourself how you feel. If
there are negative feelings associated with the day, think about
what triggers may have caused them to bubble up. For any positive
feelings, think about what may have triggered you to feel happy.”

By Nicole Spector
5. Substitute some screen time with people time
“The average amount of time we spend alone gazing at our
screens now surpasses our time in face-to-face contact,” says Well.
“Science tells us that we need reflections to develop our sense of
self in relation to others. As we spend more time alone and on our
devices, we miss this essential human mirroring. The symptoms of
lack of mirroring are becoming more apparent in our society:
increases in anxiety, lack of empathy and intense self-objectification
(as in the selfie craze). There’s a call — if not an urgent cry — for
greater self-awareness and reflection.”

By Nicole Spector
6. Ask others how they see you

Not only should we build out our face-to-face social actions,

but also use a portion of this time to learn about how our loved
ones perceive us.
“Talk to your closest loved ones and be courageous enough to
ask how they perceive you in various situations,” says Krimer.
“Getting perspective on how you behave or come off in certain
situations can help us bring into our awareness something that
was previously invisible to us. Therapy is great for this, too.”

By Nicole Spector
7. Angry at someone? Take the ‘third-person’ perspective
Ultimately the benefits of self-awareness are to serve not only you in emotional
management, but also to serve your relationships.
Michal Strahilevitz, a consumer psychologist and marketing professor at St. Mary's
College of California, speaks to the importance of catching yourself when a situation
or person agitates you.
“If you catch yourself raising your voice, you may feel justified due to being upset,”
says Strahilevitz. “However, for the person with you (second person), the experience
will be quite different. Trying to imagine yourself in that person's place will improve
self awareness, reduce defensiveness, and quite possibly improve your relationship
with that person as well. Third person is particularly effective for people who are
overly self-critical or who trend to be self-destructive. What would you advise if you
were a caring friend watching your behavior? That would be taking a third person
perspective.”
By Nicole Spector
8. Keep checking in with yourself (and a list of feelings)

“Clinically, the most effective method for the development of

self-awareness is a pause and brief check-in with oneself: ‘How
am I feeling right now? What do I think might be driving that
feeling?’” says Duffy. “This may seem absurdly simple, but in
practice, my clients find it to be quite difficult. Many need to
carry a list of possible emotions with them as they begin this
exercise, as the pat answers (‘I feel fine.’; ‘I feel bad.’; ‘I feel
angry.’) are not particularly rich or productive.”

By Nicole Spector
9. Keep learning — the journey never ends
While this article hopefully helps with pointers, there is a trove of
wonderful material out there that can be of guidance in your ever-
evolving journey towards self-awareness.
"Read and learn about the psychology and practices of self-awareness,"
recommends Krimer. "Get excited about gaining the knowledge that will
in turn teach you about yourself. There are so many incredible psych
books and workbooks that encourage the cultivation of our self-
awareness. School of Life is a terrific company that publishes books and
other novelty card sets that help explain in a very direct, clear and smart
way, the importance of building self knowledge and the impacts this has
on everything else in our life."
By Nicole Spector
6 WAYS TO IMPROVE SELF-AWARENESS

The famous tennis player Billie Jean King once said: “I think self-
awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a
champion.”
Self-awareness is having conscious knowledge of our thoughts and
emotions. Those who are self-aware tend to act consciously rather
than passively, meaning they make better decisions, have higher
levels of psychological health, and have a more positive outlook on
life.
So the fundamental question has to be: how do we help develop it?
ASK FOR FEEDBACK
One way in which we can improve self-awareness is
through asking for feedback. Feedback is most useful
when it is given by those who understand us and will be
honest. It is important to be told what we need to hear,
rather than what we want to hear.

When asking for feedback, either/or questions about our

behaviors should be avoided, as they set the narrative
and put words into the mouth of those providing
feedback, stopping them from generating their own
ideas.

Furthermore, when receiving feedback, we need to be

open-minded - particularly if there is a difference of
opinion as such situations foster learning. It may be
necessary to question the feedback to enhance our
understanding and to allow ourselves to make the
necessary improvements.
RECOGNIZE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Self-awareness can be improved through

recognition of our strengths and weaknesses.
Having awareness means that we can work on
our weakness and seek help if it is needed to
make the necessary improvements. Asking for
help is often perceived in a negative way; but it
should not be, as it can build a team around us
and enhance our effort and motivation to work
harder.
BETTER SELF-REFLECTION

Carrying out 15 minutes of daily self-reflection

is a good way to enhance self-awareness, as it
allows us to understand ourselves on a deeper
level. Using a diary is an effective way to carry
this out, as it provides an opportunity for
feelings to be communicated in a tangible way,
and unlock thoughts and emotions that might
otherwise be disregarded.
MONITOR SELF-TALK
Monitoring self-talk can improve self-
awareness, as it makes our thoughts and
emotions more obvious. Self-talk needs to be
helpful, with wins being celebrated and failures
not being excessively dwelt on. Saying ‘Stop’
after a negative thought can also act as a
platform to halt a train of thought and follow it
with more positive and helpful self-talk.
PRACTICE SAYING ‘NO’
The ability to say no to ourselves to put off short-term
gratification in favour of long-term gain is an important
life-skill, and practicing this can improve self-awareness.
To master this skill, we should set ourselves goals for the
number of temptations we will resist each day and
increase this number as we improve.

The implications of being able to say ‘no’ are also far

reaching. In the famous marshmallow experiment,
children who were able to restrain from eating a
marshmallow until the researcher returned were more
academically and socially competent and better able to
deal with stress 10 years later when compared with
those who ate the marshmallow before the researcher
returned.
QUESTION DECISIONS

Before acting on a decision, we should

come up with three good reasons as to
why we should pursue it. Stopping to ask
yourself ‘why’ improves our self-
awareness as it allows us to better
understand the motives behind our
decisions and explore them further,
meaning that we can be confident that
the decisions we make are good ones.
FINAL THOUGHT
The development of self-awareness does not happen
overnight and can be difficult, as we are ‘not there’ to
observe ourselves. Often, we operate automatically;
unconscious of our thoughts and feelings. However,
through receiving honest feedback, enhancing our
understanding of our strengths and weaknesses and
monitoring our thoughts and emotions, we can work
towards becoming more self-aware.
Self awareness in
the workplace
 What is Self
awareness in the
workplace?
What is self awareness in the workplace?
As a core component of emotional intelligence, self awareness
in the workplace is all about getting a stronger grip on our
feelings, emotions and mental health.
All of these factors play a big part in how we think, feel and
act at work on a daily basis. Self-aware employees are those
that:
• understand what they want
• recognize their strengths and weaknesses
• have control over the way they present themselves
What is self awareness in the workplace?
Every employee will have areas they excel in and
areas in which they might need some support.
The good news for employers is that self
awareness is something that can be developed
over time with training, which is exactly why so
many organizations are making it a priority in
their learning and staff career development plans.
Why is self awareness
important in the
workplace?
Why is self awareness important in the
workplace?
High emotional intelligence is an incredibly
valuable characteristic to have at work, particularly
if you are managing a team or dealing with other
people on a regular basis.
Here are four advantages that self-aware
employees tend to benefit from:
1. Coping better with pressure and stress
Pressure is a natural part of our lives; though it’s easy to see how
continual pressure at work can lead to stress and anxiety if people
don’t have a good coping mechanism to manage it.
Simple behaviors like recognizing the onset of stressful emotions and
taking regular breaks to relieve pressure can help people respond
positively to pressure and reduce the risk of burnout.
Highly self-aware individuals even have the potential to reframe
situations in their mind and view them positively rather than
negatively.
2. Managing time more efficiently

Without a good level of self awareness in the workplace, employees

find it difficult to manage their time and perform at their peak on a
regular basis. It’s a big help if employees can think ahead and plan
their schedule in a way that maximizes their strengths and minimizes
their weaknesses.

For instance, if a person knows that they work best first thing in the
morning, they should feel comfortable organizing their day
accordingly in order to limit meetings and other distractions and
instead focus on their priorities.
3. Developing leaders
For some employees, going through their day-to-day roles and
responsibilities is enough to keep them happy in their current position.
However, anyone that has ambitions to move into a senior role will
need to develop the ability to influence colleagues in a positive way,
particularly those in a managerial role.
This is another area where self awareness at work is so important. Self-
aware people generally have a good sense of how their mood and
behavior affects other members of staff. The ability to empathize is
also essential when giving and receiving feedback and criticism
because this ensures that important messages are communicated in
the right way.
4. Enabling progression and high performance
Alan Mullaly, the CEO responsible for turning around the fortunes of
Ford Motors in the mid-2000s, once said that self awareness is perhaps
the biggest opportunity for growth and improvement – in business, at
home, and in life.

Research from the Korn Ferry Institute backs this up too. Its study of
486 companies over a 30-month period found that businesses with a
higher rate of return also employed staff with higher levels of self
awareness. In fact, poor-performing businesses were 79% more likely
to have low overall self-awareness than businesses in the top
percentile for performance.
How to improve self
awareness in the
workplace?
How to improve self awareness in the
workplace?
Every employee in your organization
should be aware of their own strengths
and weaknesses because this is
fundamental to their long-term
progression.
Here are 4 tips on how to build self
awareness in the workplace:
1. Coping better with pressure and stress
▪ Talk openly with staff about keeping
pressure positive
▪ Ask employees to note when they start to
feel stress so they can recognize the
triggers
2. Managing time
▪ Encourage autonomy and self-
organization
▪ Ensure staff know they can and
should schedule breaks
3. Developing leaders
▪ Look for practical ways that potential
leaders can understand how their
mood and behaviors affects others
▪ Build mood checks into team
meetings, or through anonymized
surveys
4. Provide development opportunities
▪ Encourage personal development
around self awareness, such as through
topical reading
▪ Look for guided learning and training
opportunities