Personal Development
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Interpersonal Development
This curriculum area gets you to think about who you really are - which is one of those things that most people think they know until they realise they've never really thought about it before. So, who are you?
When asked the question "Who are you?" we normally reply with our name, because that is our unique identifier.
It's
the name we have been given, so it's who we are. But our name is only
one small bit of who we are - and it's a bit we didn't get to choose.
Our
parents chose our names for us, and they had reasons for calling us by
those names. We may not know what those reasons are, or if we do know we
may not agree with the reasons. 
Image source: http://www.parents.com/baby-names/ideas/girl/
We might hate our name. Those of us who don’t like our names sometimes adopt nicknames, or use abbreviations.
Do you like your name?
Some people enjoy hearing their names called out. Some people cringe at the sound. Some people haven't much thought about whether they like their name or not. Now's your chance to consider whether you think your name suits you, and to take ownership of it.
Have a quick look at this video before deciding:
Playing time: 3:11
So, given the research in this video - do you like your name?
If you don't like your name - don’t worry! Many of us hate our names, some to the point that we cringe when we hear it called. You don’t have to call yourself your given name forever.
But, be aware that if you do now suddenly decide to change your name, other people are going to have to get used to it!
ACTIVITY:
Come up with a name you would rather be called and try using it for a day. Try it out and see how it feels. Do you feel differently if people call you something different? Discuss reactions you get and how you feel in the 'changing name discussion forum'.
The Romans believed that your name outlines your destiny. Some experts say names subtly sway our interests and career choices. They think it's one reason Scott Speed races cars and Alan Bloom tends to plants.
Others say names shape how we see ourselves and influence the expectations of those around us, or what our parents thought when they named us.
So does our name make a difference to our future? Do they matter and have any predictive power on our lives? This next video looks at these issues:
Playing time: 7:00
"Names
... distinguish us; they present us to others," writes author Deirdre
McNamer. (Yes, that's her real name.) "Before you know much at all about
a stranger, you know the stranger's name."
Our
names are an integral part of our identity, says Cleveland Kent Evans,
an associate psychology professor at Bellevue University and a past
president of the American Name Society - an organisation that promotes
onomastics, the study of names and naming practices. Even those who
claim not to like their name, he says, usually can't imagine changing it
because it's so much a part of their identity.
Changing a name that you have been given for a reason can be very hard as it can feel like there is an expectation for you to live up to something or someone.
Family might say things like ‘the person you were named after was such a kind-hearted person’, which can immediately feel like a comparison, or a criticism implying that you are not!
Usually being named after someone is a means of honouring the person you are named after, and keeping the name going in the family.
Being named to honour someone is particularly difficult if you really don’t like the name, as family can find it insulting if you then change your name—but that is your choice, not theirs; you just need to be aware of the impact changing your name might have.
Cool. You can come up with a name you would rather be called and use that.
If you want to change to that name ‘officially’, like for your passport, then you need to change it by deed poll which is a legal government process; but if you just want to change your name to something else for everyday purposes, just tell people to call you by a different name.
Warning: Just be aware that if you do now suddenly decide to change your name, other people are going to have to get used to it, so sometimes it is easiest to do it when you start a new job, go to a new school, or when you are at a point of change in your life and you are making many new introductions to people who are not used to calling you by your ‘given name’ – that is the name that your parents gave you. People who know you by your ‘old’ name will find it very hard to change to call you by your chosen name.
Some research suggests that your name can impact on your future. This next video has some surprising ideas in it:
Playing time: 3:52
No doubt, today's parents-to-be
who live in the Western part of the world believe in the power of
names. A 2007 survey conducted by BabyCenter, LLC, found that 58
percent of parents "believe a child's name contributes to his or her
success in life," and choosing a name was one of their first major
challenges as a parent.
Moss
believes parents have always put of lot of love and care into naming
their children, but she says the Internet adds a community dimension.
"Now you have the opportunity to see [name] statistics and get feedback
from people other than your friends and family," she says.
Then there's the Google factor. Prospective parents can now type their favourite names into search engines to see how popular they are and note who and what pops up.
ACTIVITY:
Sign Your Chosen Name
Once you have decided on your name—whether you choose to retain the name given to you, or you have selected a new one—consider how you will write it. Your hand will record your signature frequently in your lifetime, and so your signature should express something of your personality as well as inscribe your identity.
Practice creating a signature for your chosen identity: write your name in a variety of ways, to allow free expression to your personal style and to create a written mark of who you are for all to see.
Signatures can be tight or loose, bold or modest, neat or free-form, but whatever your signature, it should represent YOU.
If your hand cannot decide how to write the new signature you seek, there is a website that allows you to see 120 online signature variations—just type in your name into Step 1 then scroll through the options generated by Step 2 (no need to go further than Step 2):
https://www.mylivesignature.com/create-signature-step1
The
website below considers how to remake your handwritten signature
following simple steps, with clear examples to illustrate the process:
http://www.wikihow.com/Sign-a-Cool-Signature
Some people have really difficult names from which to create interesting signatures. The answer might be to turn your initials into a monogram. It’s a quick, simple and elegant solution:
Playing time: 10:25 - but you don't need to watch it all to get the idea!
Once you have decided on a personal style to convey your new sense of yourself, practice your signature until your hand expresses your style, automatically.
The thing about your name is you didn’t have a choice in what it would be, it was given to you.
Your name can be viewed as a gift from those that gave it to you, and something to be grateful for; or it can be a curse if you hate the name and really don’t feel it suits you and your identity.
Everyone in your life will know you by that given name thus far, and if you choose to change it, then everyone will have to come to terms with the change, which will be very difficult for some people— particularly for those who intended for the name to be a gift when they gave it to you (although you perceive it as a curse).
Photo by Laurenz Kleinheider on Unsplash
Changing your name can be exceptionally liberating, allowing you a new start in a new identity.
However, you cannot simply leave your past behind, and forget who you were.
So think hard before deciding to change your name—the choice is yours, but for most people, choosing to stay with the name you were given is a much simpler route than choosing to change it. And if you do keep your name, you now own it because now you have chosen to keep it.
When we meet people, they make instant judgements about us based on how we present ourselves. What you do and say is covered in the 'Introducing Yourself' curriculum area, but there is more to it – there is your own frame of mind, which impacts how you talk, determines your body language, and influences your general level of confidence.
Image source: https://aponderingmind.org/2016/03/08/and-i-present-to-you-myself/
Metaphors can be a very good way of understanding how we are feeling and how we come across as we present ourselves to the outside world.
For example, someone who is feeling ‘blue’ is generally feeling depressed and down about things; someone who is feeling ‘red’ is hot and fiery, often angry; and someone who is feeling ‘green’ might be calm and at one with nature and in sync with their environment.
Choices of colours can indicate our emotional preferences.
There are warmer colours (such as reds) and cooler colours (such as blues). Some colours are very bright and stand out (such as yellows) and others tend to fade more into a background (such as greys). Some colours can represent elements of nature (such as green for the environment); others can represent moods (such as blue).
Some colours represent particular groups/movements (such as black for the Goths); others might just be your favourite for whatever reason, or it might be a colour you look particularly good in, or a colour that reminds you of a something you particularly like.
The web link below offers background to the colour wheel that illustrates the primary and secondary colours and touches upon the harmony available from combining certain colours, and also speaks to colour in contexts.
Select the link to read the short article:
https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory
This next web link opens a text that speaks about the symbolic meanings of colours, and provides resources for selecting colour based on the body, on vision, on science, for design or for marketing:
https://www.colormatters.com/color-symbolism/the-meanings-of-colors
ACTIVITY:
What colour would you be?
There is no right or wrong colour for you to choose, it is just interesting to think about what colour you choose and why are choosing it - and whether you would change colour, and how often?
You can change your colour as often as you wish, and might choose to change your colour for different occasions so you can feel yourself offering a different representation, according to your needs.
Think about what colours you are at different times of the day, or in different moods, or if you have a constant colour. Discuss your colour preferences and what they represent to you in the 'colour forum'.
Animals are a good metaphor to help us understand how we see ourselves as we tend to view animals in terms of a mixture of physical power, brain power and emotion.
Choices of animals can give us some insight into our self-image, that is, how we think about ourselves.
Do we see ourselves as a lion, courageous and king of the jungle? Or more of a mouse, nimble and good at hiding or staying out of sight? Or a dog who is loyal, good fun and loving? Or a chinchilla who is exotic, cute and rare?
Again, there is no right or wrong animal for you to choose, but it is interesting to understand why you choose the animal that you do.
In this task, we are asking you to work within a framework of understanding that we expect is unknown to most of you—that of the Aboriginal Australian.
We are hoping that none of you have done a task such as this before, and so have no idea of what might be considered ‘good’ or ‘bad’—and so we hope that this task can be for you a judgement-free interpretation.
Fundamental to the Aboriginal people’s identity and worldview is animistic spirituality.
In an animistic world every single thing is interconnected—people, plants, animals, landforms and the stars in the sky are all part of a larger reality. In this world, nothing is inanimate; everything is alive, all things are energised by a spirit.
Because of this inter-connectedness, Aboriginals believe that as part of nature, we humans are morally obligated to treat animals, plants and landforms with respect.
Aboriginal spirituality is also totemic. A totem is a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by members of an Aboriginal clan or family as their spiritual emblem.
As a child’s mother is conscious of the first movement in her womb she takes note of the area so that the infant will become identified with the spirit of the area in which she is located. This is based on the belief that the spirit of that area has energised the infant in the womb and so the child becomes linked with the spirit associated with the creation of that place. At the moment of birth an Aboriginal child is given a birth totem.
The Aboriginal child also receives a skin totem and a clan totem. The child’s spiritual responsibility in life will be to learn the songs and dances, and how to perform the ceremonies, that are associated with those totems so as to energise the relevant spirits within those parts of creation.
Aboriginal Totems
Many of the Aboriginal totems are animal, bird, or reptile, and these represent creation ancestors who gave the foundations of life and told what people had to do to maintain natural interdependence—that is, their connectedness to other people; their responsibilities for their country’s water courses, landforms, and species; and for their ongoing relationship with the ancestor spirits themselves.
The animal, bird and reptile totems emerge from their roles in stories that the Aborigines tell to describe the creation myth they call the Dreamtime.
If you are unfamiliar with Dreamtime, this next video is a Dreamtime story:
Playing time: 5:33
These animal, bird and reptile totems are metaphors for different characteristics.
We want to draw on this Aboriginal tradition and have you start to create your individual totem pole. The totem pole you construct will be a representation of how you perceive yourself.
Look over the totems in the next section before you continue with this task, so that you are familiar with the choices that you have available as the activity proceeds.
You will notice that each totem is associated with certain characteristics. Your choice of totem is a starting point that corresponds with the image you have for yourself today—this image may change over time, and you can come back to your totem pole to add new images that begin to shape a pole that represents your whole being, expressed over time.
Start by selecting from the Aboriginal animals presented, but you can then deviate and develop your totem to include any representative image you wish over time.
—adapted from http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/indigenous-spirituality
 | Rainbow Snake (Bolung Bolung) creative, a healer; and so offers original ideas, starts new things, resolves conflict, smooths discord |
 | Crocodile (Pikuwa) wily, sly, a coward; and so suggests alternatives that are opportunistic, shy to confront others directly |
 | Curlew (Wayayai, Willaroo) a guardian, warns of danger, cautionary; and so protective of interests, alert to challenges, careful |
 | Willy Wagtail (Jitta Jitta) gossip, messenger, news-giver; and so spreads rumour, likes to chat, freely comments |
 | Parrot (Guma, Guriyal) bonds relationships; and so nurtures the team, socialises well, forms alliances |
 | Flying Fox (Bangu) quarrelsome, align with winning side, plunderer; and so poaches ideas, argues, flatters |
 | Crow (Bellin-Bellin) trickster, cunning, attractive, mirthful; and so lively, jolly, light-hearted, but crafty, shrewd |
 | Eaglehawk (Bunjil) sober, respect for fellows and law; and so sets and adheres to rules, serious, traditionalist, seeks order |
 | Koala (Coolawines, Colos) friend, giver of helpful advice; and so helpmate, sympathiser, fosters partnership, counsels, recommends, guides |
 | Taipan Snake (Gan) arbitrator, curer, controls power, clever; and so quick-witted, perceptive, rules the negotiation, seeks authority to solve issues |
ACTIVITY:
Use the PowerPoint template 'Aboriginal totem template' to help sort which animals will be in your totem.
Now try to find three original words that describe the animal you choose and note these down – you might want to use these later on when you create your digital brand identity.
Again, you can choose to be a different animal at any point in time, and sometimes thinking of yourself as that animal can help you find your inner courage, new strength, or the appropriate voice to contribute to different situations.
If you’re struggling with the concept of metaphors, watch this short video which shows how metaphors and similes are used in pop music:
Playing time: 6.46
The video gives a good explanation of what a simile or metaphor is, which makes you realise how often you use them in your normal speech. When the phrases are reworded without the metaphors, they seem unnaturally long.
Image source: https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-personal-identity-image3166475
There is one thing that is true for all of us – no matter who we are. Our life begins the day we are born, and it ends the day that we die. What happens in between those two points in time differs for everybody.
Everyone experiences life differently, and mapping your life is a really interesting exercise to help you understand who you are today because of what has happened in your life already.
Capturing your personal history can be a beautifully poetic narrative as exemplified in this next video, but for most of us, this articulation and reflection will take a lot of practice to achieve:
Playing time: 1.30
So let's start with simpler means of capturing our past and work up to forming a narrative. Part of your current situation will depend on who have been key people in your life, and some will depend on key incidents that happened.
For example, for many of you, starting school will have been very exciting, while others may not remember that beginning and might need to reflect on this moment with your parents. For some of you, a certain teacher might have had a big impact upon your development, while for others the impact may have come from a grandparent, a sports coach, or some other persons you met on your journey through life so far.
Understanding your history helps you in a number of ways.
ACTIVITY:
Complete the personal history template, mapping out key incidents and people in your life who have influenced and impacted upon who you are today – whether they are a positive or a negative influence – and consider which people you are going to actively seek out to take forwards as influences into your future. Save it in your portfolio. Use photographs if you can find them, that captured the moment at the time, or other memorabilia that represents the occasions for you, such as a ticket to your first show.
You will need to revisit this and update it as key events happen in your future as your timeline continues with you through your life.
Now that you have your timeline, try to create a single visual representation of your history, either by hand-drawing, by combining photos, or by using some other means to represent your past as a pictogram.
You can include places of importance, people of importance, or images representing issues of importance to you.
The final visual should be titled ‘My Personal History’ and posted in the 'My Personal History Wiki' for feedback and discussion and contribution to a collage of history of youth today, and save it to your portfolio.
At first reading, you might think your answer is ‘nothing’ as you like to stay in bed as long as possible! That’s ok – we’re talking metaphorically here. The question is about what motivates you.
What is it that you want to do in your day that makes your day worthwhile?
For many people, for example, school is not something that they get want to get out of bed for. School is a necessity, and you need to attend. But seeing your friends, doing a certain project, walking your dog, looking after your grandparents, playing your favourite sport, going to the movies, and so forth are all things that you want to do, and enjoy doing.
Many psychologists have studied motivation. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is perhaps the best-known theory of motivation. The theory is usually illustrated as a pyramid, and is outlined in this slide show:
https://www.slideshare.net/coburgpsych/maslows-theory-of-motivation
Maslow argues that we have certain needs we have to fulfil and that once we have fulfilled them, we move up a level and are motivated by the next set of needs. But if we are at a higher level and one of our baseline needs slips, we go back down to fulfil that slipped need before returning to move upwards on the hierarchy.
So, for example, if we are hungry we will get out of bed to get something to eat; but if we are not hungry, we might get out of bed to be sociable and meet friends. The theory is more fully explained here:
Playing time: 2.47
Herzberg’s two factor theory says that there are factors that actively motivate you when they are present, which he calls motivators; and then factors that demotivate you if they are not present, which he calls hygiene factors.
So, for example, Herzberg says that money is a hygiene factor. You are not more motivated to do better if you get paid more, but you become demotivated and work less if you are not paid enough. His theory is explained here:
Playing time: 1.55
Drawing on these two theories, see if you can identify what motivates you, and also what demotivates you.
For motivators, it might help to think about things that you enjoy doing and why you enjoy doing them; or consider things that make you feel good about yourself (even if you don’t particularly enjoy doing them).
For demotivators, think about things that happen that make you want to stop doing something you enjoy.
Complete the motivation activity template and save it in your portfolio.
Now that you’ve identified what motivates you and demotivates you, translate this into a work situation to help you think about the type of job that you will be motivated to do. For example, some of you might be motivated by working with others, so you will want to work in a team; others might prefer tasks that you can do on your own.
ACTIVITY:
Write up a list of 10 factors you need to take into account when considering your future career.
Draw on the motivators and demotivators you identified earlier. Complete the future career motivators template and save it to your portfolio.
You can go back and revisit these templates at any time, and you will find that your views change as you have more experiences.
Your values are core to how you behave and the decisions that you make in life.
Values underpin everything that you do.
Photo by Brandi Redd on Unsplash
For example, some people value being reliable as very important, and hence will turn up to play in a team, rather than stay at home to do an assignment due the next day (because they don’t want to let the team down).
Others value personal effort (if you are going to do something, do it well) and hence will stay up very late studying for an exam the next day.
Others who value fairness will stick up for someone they see being bullied.
ACTIVITY:
Who is responsible for the Princess’s death?
To help you identify your values, have a look at this short story about a Princess.
Read the story and then rank in order of ‘most responsible’ to ‘least responsible’ which characters in the story you think are culpable for the Princess’s death. Use the 'Princess Ranking Activity' template to record your ranking.
This is a great activity to discuss in the Princess Ranking Forum as everyone has different rankings for different reasons – but it helps you identify your values when you start to justify why you have put the characters in the order of responsibility you have ranked.
If you are struggling with the concept of core values, have a look at this video which explains the difference between feelings and values:
Playing time: 5.27
Ada Casanova found her core values by pretending she was a 4 year-old and asking herself ‘why’ about everything, in order to establish her personal brand. She reminds us: If we stand for nothing we will fall for anything. It is important to know and live the values that underpin our personal brand.
Playing time: 5.49
Write down everything you do in two days (don’t worry about noting repeat activities), and by each activity ask yourself why you are doing it.
Then when you have the answer, ask yourself ‘why is that’?
And when you have that answer, ask yourself again ‘why is that’.
Keep asking yourself until you answer ‘…because I believe that…‘ Then you are starting to find the core value that you believe in ─ the value that underpins your actions.
There's a log template (what do I do in a day template) for two days for you to complete and save to your portfolio. You can discuss this on Chat also if you want to.
By now you should have enough self-understanding to start to develop your own personal narrative. It doesn't have to be as eloquent as the video we saw earlier in this course.
Your narrative is the story that you will tell about your life – selecting which bits to include and which you would rather not share and keep private; drawing on key events and key people who have influenced you; relating to metaphors that help you describe how you were feeling at different points in time.
But it is not just the content of the story that is important, it is also the tone of voice in which you deliver the story.
Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/once-upon-a-time-writer-author-719174/
In these next two videos you are going to see black women who have overcome odds to succeed in their respective fields, telling the stories of their lives.
What is interesting is that one tells her story drawing on positive occurrences, and the other tells her story about overcoming negative elements. Both are great stories and both women are fantastic, so watch them and think about the impact they have on you. The first five minutes cover their narratives, and they then go on to challenge how others write the narratives for them.
The film director Amma Asante gives a TEDx talk on the power of defining yourself. She talks about how her definition of herself didn’t match what society bestowed upon her, and therefore she underscores the need to define yourself.
Playing time: 16.59
Amma Asante compels you to make your own choices in how you define yourself, which is what The Inventorium is about.
Ola Orekunrin’s talk is more shocking in terms of how women are judged in society, and how traits can be feminised to be derogatory.
Her purpose is to help you realise how you are stereotyped, labelled and trivialised in many of your pursuits and behaviours – whether you are male or female, intrapreneur or entrepreneur, employed or self-employed.
Prepare to be challenged! Again, The Inventorium is designed to help you overcome and challenge these stereotypes through the Courage Quests. Some surprising language is used in this video as it challenges how you label people and their behaviours.
Playing time: 17.09
Having watched these two videos, which did you prefer and why?
Amma is very appealing while Ola is very challenging; Amma talks about her personal story while Ola talks about herself in a wider context with research and data; Amma talks from a position of confidence while Ola admits to her vulnerabilities.
Neither is ‘better’ than the other; these women are different in their presentation of their stories, and both are urging you to be yourself and to bring about the change you want to become.
How you present yourself, therefore, can be as important as who you are, because how your are received by others will affect the impact on them that you ultimately can have.
Do you seek to challenge or be liked? And can you work up two different versions of your story so you can be either as the circumstances warrant?
ACTIVITY:
Have a go at writing your personal narrative (or record it as a podcast, or in some other form).
The purpose of the task is to find a voice in which you are comfortable in talking about yourself.
Some people find this task to be very easy and they can readily talk about themselves; others find this challenge to be excruciatingly difficult; some people fall in between the two.
The key here is to
Then you’ll be more successful at making the impact you want to make when you meet people and they say ‘Tell me about yourself’ than you would if you make things up on the spot!
Record your story and upload it as a podcast in our Narratives Wiki for feedback and comments. Listen to other people’s narratives, and give them feedback also. Keep a copy in your portfolio for your records.
There are many different learning styles and preferences which have developed over time, and there is no one right way to learn. This quiz helps you think about your learning preferences, including new ideas on learning for the 21st century that might not have been considered previously.
If you want to read up more on some of the topics in this sections, we've added some additional readings for you here. There are no activities in this section, just some extra reading if you want to do it. It's not compulsory but for interest only.
Want to read more? See The Name Game: A Look Behind the Labels (2009) text by Donna M. Jackson, Illustrations by Ted Stearn, London: Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-670-01197-1
This is where you can upload items you've found that could be added to the course and benefit others through sharing. We've made this a wiki as this is the easiest way for you to share different formats, and we will review this periodically and add the best items into the course itself. Thank you for sharing!
If you've completed all the activities and are ready for them to be submitted for review to be considered for a certificate, press the submit button. If you want to go back and redo anything before submitting, feel free to do so. It is up to you when you submit.