Meaning of Self-Concept Self-concept is defined as the way of one perceives himself, be it positive or negative, high or low which is a result

of ones belief and of others belief. Understanding ones self is a key to happiness as one would be able to identify his weaknesses and strengths thus, enabling him to undergo self-improvement. The great philosopher, Aristotle believes that knowing and understanding oneself can lead to the true knowledge. True knowledge is finding meaning to ones existence, searching the path of his direction and aiming to reach his destination. In Rogers theory, he coined the term fully functioning persons. They are people who strive to experience life to the fullest, who live in the here and now, and who trust their own feelings. They are sensitive to the needs and rights of others but do not allow societys standard to shape their feelings or actions to an excessive degree. They are in close touch with their own values and feelings and experiences life more deeply than most other persons. Rogers said that there is a gap between self-concept and reality. For instance, a woman believes that she is very likable and that she makes friends easily. One day, she happens to overhear a conversation between two other people who describe her as moody, difficult to get along with, and definitely not very likable. She is crushed; here is information that is highly inconsistent with her self-concept. As a result of this experience, anxiety occurs, and she adopts one or more psychological defenses to reduce it. The most common of these is distortion; for example, the woman convinces herself that the people discussing do not really know her very well or they have misinterpreted her behavior. Another defense is denial. Here, the woman may refuse to admit to herself that she heard the conversation or that understood what the other people were saying. Maneuvers - successful in the sense that they help reduce anxiety -they produce a wider gap between an individuals self-concept and reality - The larger the gap, the greater an individuals maladjustment and personal happiness Maslow - another humanistic theorist who is well known for his Hierarchy of Needs - ranging from physiological needs, safety and security needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and lastly, the self-actualization needs. - According to him, lower-order needs in the hierarchy must be satisfied before we can turn to more complex, higher-order needs.

- he did not only focus on the need hierarchy but also gave attention to the study of people who are described as psychologically healthy. These are individuals who have attained high levels selfactualization. Who are these people? Maslow described these people as possessing these characteristics. Characteristics of Self-actualized People They accept themselves for what they are. They recognize their shortcomings as well as their strengths. Being in touch with their own personalities, they are less conformist or inhibited than the others. They are well aware of the rules imposed by society but feel greater freedom to ignore them. They seem to retain their childhood wonder and amazement with the world. For them, life continues to be an exciting adventure than humdrum routine. They seem to achieve peak experiences in which they experience powerful feelings of unity with the universe and tremendous waves of power and wonder. Such experiences appear to be linked to personal growth, for after them, individuals report than their feelings are more spontaneous, more appreciative of life, and less concerned with the problems of everyday life. Thus, to become self-actualized, we have to understand more our self-concept. Many theorists have suggested that in several respects, our self-concept has two aspects: self-esteem and selfmonitoring (Baron, 1992). How Accurately Do You Know Yourself? (Adopted from Baron 1992) Rate yourself from 1-7 on the following traits: 4 is the middle of the scale. Choose ten people who know you and ask them to rate you. Compare the result with your own answer. Average their rating and Find out if the difference is big with your own rating. Moral Values Universal truths which man holds to be a good and important. They are ethical principles which the struggles to attain and implement in his daily life. They are the ideals which transcend all time and space; those which are valid for all men regardless of race and religion; the one which unites strangers, families, nations all of humanity with GOD. Universal truths of LOVE, RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF MAN, LOVE OF THE TRUTH, JUSTICE, PEACE, RESPECT FOR PROPERTY,FAMILY SOLIDARITY, RESPECT FOR LIFE, FREEDOM, and WORK.

Moral Law

Moral Law contains universal truths and ethical principles which ought to guide individual conduct of man in matter of right and wrong. The Moral Law tells man how to act in his relationship to God and his fellowmen. Man is inclined to be good and has the capacity to distinguish what is right or wrong.

Ten Commandments The following chart shows the Integration of Cultural and Moral Values in the Philippine Setting: Every person is confronted with temptations and distractions which may obstruct the positive implementation of cultural behavioral values. The sources of danger may come within and from without. People should continuously struggle to control their senses and emotions and the tendency to justify and rationalize their behavior. Moreover, they must withstand the seduction of moral relativism, paganism and radical ideologies which can distort the truth and becoming indifferent to objective standards of morality. Virtue formation is a dynamic process in which a person develops the facility to do a particular good act repetitively whenever the situation calls for it. Both conscience and virtue formation detract an individual from pursuing purely personal and selfish motives. Instead, they direct an individual to be sensitive to the needs of others and to be concerned with the common good of society. In harmony, the dual process of formation guides the intellect to judge prudently and inspire the will to be in control of the passions and sense- appetites. Ideally, this should be seen amongst our community leaders as their primary goal is to protect and serve the people. A strong sense of conscience is also essential for leaders or politicians to make the right choices when it comes to the betterment of their constituents. However, even a normal person, with or without accountability to other people should be able to develop this facility. One has to act selflessly in order to do good to other people put personal advancement as secondary. On the other hand, values formation can be enhanced through the development of conscience which is the internalization of punishment. Indeed the best proof that a person was able to develop good, positive values is by practicing virtues such as fortitude, temperance, justice, and prudence. They are necessary conditions for the perfection of human; human virtues make them more supremely disposed and prepared to be of genuine service to their family, to the rest of their fellowmen and to themselves. This is an important aspect of development as I believe that values formation should be starting at an early age. Children as taught to obey rules and directions from their parents otherwise, he/she will suffer the consequences. This also teaches the child a strong sense of responsibility to ones actions. Overall, I feel that both values and virtue formation are important facilities that each person needs to develop. This allows a person to do something for other people while setting aside personal interests. Self Awareness and Values Formation