Personal Development – Senior High School

Quarter 1, Learner’s Packet 4

Power Triad in Everyday Situations

Learner’s Name: Grade and Section:

___________________________________ ________________________

Teacher’s Name: Date Submitted:

___________________________________ ________________________

I. Introductory Concept
In Module 3, you learned that your thoughts, feelings, and actions are
interrelated and that it is necessary to self-evaluate because your emotions can
overwhelm your rational thinking and affect the way you behave around people. In this
module, you will learn that in order to win in life, you must manage well your thoughts,
feelings, and actions in every day situation.

II. Learning Competencies

The learner shows the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
in actual life situations. (EsP-PD11/12DWP-Ic2.3)

III. Learning Activities

The Story of the Two Wolves
The following is an old Cherokee Indian story that is
enlightening and helpful.One evening an old Cherokee told his
grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My
son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all."

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is

evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and https://otrazhenie.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/inside-
each-of-us-are-two-wolves/
ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love,

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hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and
faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which
wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed".

Knowing which wolf to feed is the first step towards recognizing you have control over
your own self.

Have you ever had thoughts, feelings or acted in ways that were unacceptable to
yourself but felt powerless to control? The purpose of this story is to help you find ways to
manage your mind so that you can live your life more in accordance with what your own
judgment says is best for you.

As we grow up, we gradually become aware of the many things in the external world
which are largely beyond our ability to control. These include other people in general and most
events in our lives. Initially this is difficult to accept, but a more shocking realization is that
there are many things about ourselves that we seem powerless to control.

Some of these are our own thoughts, feelings, and actions which unfortunately can be
the source of much distress. It may be thoughts such as “I cannot stop hating my teacher for
not giving me high grades.” It may involve an emotion e.g. “My girlfriend left me and I cannot
stop feeling sad, lonely and unloved.” It can also be in the form of a behavior such as the
inability to control one's craving for food such as cakes and chocolates.”

But are we indeed really powerless to control our own maladaptive thoughts, feelings
and actions? The grandfather’s answer "The one you feed" is deceivingly simple. The results
of psychological research indicate that there are at least four important concepts or ideas
implied by the answer:

1. The mind is not the unitary entity it seems to us but consists of different parts. For
example, in the story there are the two wolves and the “you” that chooses between them.
2. These parts of the mind/brain can interact and be in conflict with each other i.e. the two
wolves fight for dominance over our mind and behavior.
3. The “you” has the ability to decide which wolf it will feed.
4. Having made a choice, “you” can decide specifically how to “feed” or nurture the selected
wolf.

The STORY OF THE TWO WOLVES gives rise to a number of questions. Let us share
our thoughts, feelings and opinions on the following questions. By taking time to do this, you
will learn to better manage your mind, feelings, and actions and consciously feeding the good
wolf in you.

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Processing Questions:

Write your responses to the following questions in your journal.

• How aware are you of the two different opposing “wolves” operating within your mind, one
of which leads to pain and a diminished sense of life and the other to a joyous, meaningful,
and fulfilling life?

• When was the time you feel disappointed by the choice of behavior because you knew
that there was a more positive option but you just didn’t choose it?

• What ways or techniques or exercises do you use to strengthen yourself so as to increase

its potency to choose and hence control your life?

• In what specific ways do you feed the negative wolf?

• What specific ways do you use to feed the positive wolf?

IV. Deepening
Manage Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors

✓ Our mind feels like a cohesive whole. We perceive ourselves as intentional and rational
thinkers. Yet, cognitive science research shows that in reality, the intentional part of our
mind is similar to a little rider on top of a huge elephant of emotions and intuitions. Roughly
speaking, we have two thinking systems. Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel Prize for
his research on behavioral economics, calls them “System 1” and “System 2." The terms
“autopilot system” and “intentional system” describe them more clearly and intuitively.

✓ The autopilot system corresponds to our emotions and intuitions. Its cognitive processes
take place mainly in the amygdala and other parts of the brain that developed early in our
evolution. This system guides our daily habits, helps us make snap decisions and reacts
instantly to dangerous life-and-death situations (such as saber-toothed tigers) through
the freeze, fight or flight stress response. While it helped us survive in the past, the fight-
or-flight response is not a great fit for modern life. We have many small stresses that are
not life-threatening, but the autopilot system treats them like tigers. This produces an
unnecessarily stressfuleveryday life experience that undermines our mental and physical
well-being. Moreover, while the snap judgments resulting from intuitions and emotions
might feel true because they are fast and powerful, they sometimes lead us in the wrong,
in systemic and predictable ways.

✓ The intentional system reflects our rational thinking and centers around the prefrontal
cortex: the part of the brain that evolved more recently. According to recent research, it
developed as humans started to live within larger social groups. This thinking system helps
us handle more complex mental activities, such as managing individual and group
relationships, logical reasoning, probabilistic thinking and learning new information and

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 patterns of thinking and behavior. While the automatic system requires no conscious effort
to function, the intentional system takes deliberate effort to turn on, and it is mentally tiring.
Fortunately, with enough motivation and appropriate training, the intentional system can
turn on in situations where the autopilot system is prone to make errors, especially costly
ones.

✓ Here's a quick visual comparison of the two systems:

https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-article_inline_full/public/field_blog_entry_images/Gleb-Table.png?itok=DltL-kRd

✓ The autopilot system is like an elephant. It's by far the more powerful and predominant of
the two systems.

✓ Our emotions can often overwhelm our rational thinking. Moreover, our intuitions and habits
determine the large majority of our lives, which we spend on autopilot mode. That's not a
bad thing at all. It would be mentally exhausting to think intentionally about every action and
decision.

✓ The intentional system is like the elephant rider. It can guide the elephant deliberately to go
in the direction that matches that of our actual goals. Certainly, the elephant part of the
brain is huge and unwieldy. It is slow to turn and change, and it stampedes at threats.

✓ We can train the elephant. Your rider can be an elephant whisperer. Over time, you can
use the intentional system to change your automatic thinking, feeling and behavioral
patterns. In this way, you will become a better agent in terms of taking charge of your life
and reaching your goals.

V. Reflection (no need to write your answer, just a self-reflection)

How do I manage my feelings/ emotion?

References
1. Department of Education. Personal Development Teacher’s Guide, First Edition. Philippines.
2016

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2. Department of Education. Personal Development Learners Module, First Edition. Philippines.
2016
3. Dr. Rose Zeta-Capeding. A Love Affair that got me Close to a Great Doctor. June 30, 2014.
Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/business-life/2014/06/30/1340085/love-affair-got-me-
closegreat-doctor
4. Llaneta, RJ. (2021).Power Triad in Everyday Situations: Self-Learning Module in Personal
Development, Quarter 1, Week 4.
5. Pia Wurtzbach Success Story. (n.d). Retrieved from http://successstory.com/people/pia-
alonzo-wurtzbac
6. Roldan, Amelia S. (2003). On Becoming A Winner: A Workbook on Personality Development
and Character Building. AR Skills Development and Management Services (SDMS),
Paranaque City, Metro Manila
7. Roxi Lim. Manny Pacquiao's Unbelievable Success Story Will Inspire You. May 4, 2015.
Retrieved from https://www.kalibrr.com/advice/2015/05/manny-pacquiao-success-story-willl-
inspire-you
8. Scott, Brian. The story of the two wolves: Managing your thoughts, feelings and actions.
February 21, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.psychologymatters.asia/article/65/the-story-of-
the-two-wolvesmanaging-your-thoughts-feelings-and-actions.html
9. Tsipurzky, Gleb. How to Manage Your Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors. April 13, 2016.
Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intentional-insights/201604/how-
manage-your-thoughts-feelings-and-behaviors

Images:

1. Brecken, Isaac. Manny Pacquiao. https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/15132011/ranking-

manny-pacquiao-eight-division-titles
2. Carbonilla, Kim D. Recipe for Personal Success. 2018. Sorsogon national High School.
3. Pia Wurtzbach. http://www.customerservicedetails.com/philippines/pia-wurtzbach-contact-
address-phone-number-email-id-website/
4. Philstar Global. Dr. Rose Zeta-Capeding. https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/business-
life/2014/06/30/1340085/love-affair-got-me-close-great-doctor
5. https://otrazhenie.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/inside-each-of-us-are-two-wolves/
6. https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-
article_inline_full/public/field_blog_entry_images/Gleb-Table.png?itok=DltL-kRd

Cover page clipart images:

1. https://toppng.com/uploads/preview/wolf-yin-yang-black-and-white-wolf-yin-ya-
11563257807kv2atgt6ll.png
2. https://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/203-2035389_boy-thinking-boy-thinking-png.png
3. https://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/93-937390_transparent-child-thinking-clipart-girl-think-
cartoon-png.png
4. https://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/316-3168861_how-to-stop-aggressive-behavior-
smiley.png
5. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/17/b3/fd/17b3fd0cb991c0f0e5ffd983edca6826.jpg

Prepared by:

FRANK T. TURALDE
EPS, EsP
SDO Catanduanes

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