Background
In the quest to better one’s self and accomplish goals, many people improve their personal development abilities and communication skills over time. They achieve this through education, mentorship, experiences, and self-help. These aspects are crucial in enabling people to design strategic planning for their career and personal advancement. This paper, therefore, proposes of presenting two blog posts which focus on self-identity and dynamism as the key fundamentals to personal development and communication skills.
Post 1: Self-identity is the key to personal development and communication skills
Human history and development is a major topic that has been at the forefront of most discussions across the globe for many years. In these discussions, the aspect of development has been anchored on various grounds, such as early childhood mentorships, personal experiences, and the future ambitions of individuals. These phenomena are crucial in explaining and reflecting on some of the important aspects of human life, including self-identity (Module 2, 2022). I would like to demonstrate from my own experience how important self-development is in a large area of interpersonal relations.
In my personal reflection, I look back to my early childhood as a poor child living in a modest family with good parents. Their guidance has shaped my attributes and interaction with others. Living away from home since my late childhood has enabled me to diversify my interaction skills with people from different cultures and social backgrounds. These skills and ambitions have led me to be a role model and a good-looking figure that my daughter embraces. Through my experiences with my family condition and the health status of my mother and child, I decided to take a bold step as a care provider in residential home care. This has modeled me to withstand my concrete experiences through the various stages of life. As a health care provider, I realized how important it is to get rid of fear when I talked to one of the patients. She drew attention to the fact that I am nervous when communicating with other patients and she told me that it is important to overcome my fears, to become more confident since this is self-development.
When I related these experiences to the teachings of this class, I discovered a very significant element of personal development, self-identity. Through the definition and the explanation of self-identity in class, I discovered a lot about myself. For instance, I learned that for one to share ideas and have good interaction with others, they must overcome their fears. People cannot develop and advance while they are afraid (Tsekov and Ivanova, 2018). My experience concerning difficult experiences in childhood consists of the example of my friends. When we were kids, one of my friends shared all his thoughts and ideas that were ridiculed. Subsequently, the child developed a fear of communication and expressing opinions. Over time, undoubtedly, he overcame his fear, raised his self-esteem, and learned to manage his emotions. Naturally, it is imperative to understand in which cases the manifestation of certain emotions will be appropriate. According to Tsekov and Ivanova (2018), excessive display of strong feelings in the work environment can lead to poor communication and conflict. This means that people need to learn throughout their lives to use their emotions to control their relevance and timeliness. To eradicate this fear in the future, it is necessary to communicate more often with different people, try to delve into their problems, share own thoughts.
Post 2: The importance of empathy in the development of interpersonal communication and self-improvement
The ability to understand what another person feels and to react correctly to their emotions is necessary both in personal relationships and at work. A distinctive feature of empathy is that this property concerns a wide range of emotions – regardless of their positive or negative connotation (Hall and Schwartz, 2019). That is one of the essential skills that people can possess is the skill of empathy. Empathy is a conscious empathy with the emotional state of other people, the ability to recognize what they feel and express compassion. This skill is necessary when building interpersonal relationships, for example, to find a common language, agree and develop a strategy that will satisfy both sides. Empathy needs to be developed, and it will take time, as it includes not only the ability to recognize the emotions of another person but also empathic listening, the ability to calm a person, to give them on an emotional level precisely what they need.
I realized how vital empathy, and everything related to it are in my work. I worked with people and listened to them listlessly, immersed in my thoughts. Nevertheless, I realized that the ability to listen empathically is essential, especially for those with whom communication takes place. Once working with one of the patients, I was determined to listen to him, understand his problems and experiences, and I also tried to help him distract from the issue and gave recommendations. I began to listen to this patient more, we talked heart-to-heart more often, and his well-being improved. I realized how important it is to have empathy and be able to listen in interpersonal communication.
It is necessary to work on the skill of empathy to develop it and improve oneself. It is required to allow other people to speak out, not to finish phrases for them, and not to interfere with their statements (Decety, 2020). In addition, it is imperative to listen and focus on a person’s emotions. Listening with empathy involves interpreting the thoughts and feelings of others. One of the essential elements for developing empathy is the ability to put yourself in the place of other people. This skill helps not only to understand people better but also to learn to look at the problem from different angles (Ornaghi et al., 2020). It is also needed to understand and define own feelings because without this, it will be challenging to understand precisely what the other person feels.
In the future, I plan to continue developing my ability to empathize, as I have realized from my own experience how important and effective this is. Besides the fact that this communication skill helps in work, it is also important in everyday life. I can help my daughter and support her, and she will be able to understand that in any situation, I am with her and will be able to help her. I want to convey the importance of this skill to my daughter so that she also has the opportunity to become a likable person, improve her ability to communicate, and improve herself. Empathy helps increase the productivity of activities and the development of competence in communication and ensures the creation of more profound and personal relationships.
Reference list
‘Module 2: Developing a student and group identity’ (2022) [PowerPoint presentation].
‘Module 2: Introduction to effective practice in Health and Social care’ (2022) [PowerPoint presentation].
Decety, J., 2020. Empathy in medicine: What it is, and how much we really need it. The American Journal of Medicine (Vol. 133, pp. 561-566).
Hall, J., and Schwartz, R., 2019. Empathy present and future. The Journal of Social Psychology (Vol. 159, pp. 225-243).
Ornaghi, V., Conte, E., and Grazzani, I., 2020. Empathy in toddlers: The role of emotion regulation, language ability, and maternal emotion socialization style. Frontiers in Psychology (Vol. 11, pp. 1-11).
Tsekov, I. and Ivanova, M., 2018. Principles of effective communication.
Female Firefighters In Male-Dominated Profession
Professional activity is one of the critical components of human life, due to which one develops as an individual, obtaining material and psychological means for existence. For many centuries, gender indicators significantly influenced career choices. Women had to demonstrate their strength, endurance, and courage in order to prove that they had the right to work with men on an equal footing. Nowadays, almost everyone can choose any occupation, and the boundaries between traditionally male and female jobs are becoming increasingly transparent. A firefighter is a profession that has long been considered masculine, but numerous female fire brigades are emerging in recent years, and it is evident from their activities that the work has no gender.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, firefighting was considered an exclusively male occupation that mandated stamina and strength. Most European countries began to accept women into fire divisions relatively recently. For example, in Austria, the first brigade was formed in 1912, and in advanced Norway, not a single case of a woman putting out fires was documented until the 1980s (Bishu & Headley, 2020). The first female firefighter was an African American slave girl, Molly Williams. She belonged to a New York City merchant named Benjamin Aymar, a family business owner who worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Oceanus Department.
Nowadays, it seems incredible that prosperous men want to go out to work for which they will not receive a paycheck. However, it was commonplace in the United States in the 19th century. When one had something to lose, and any warehouse one had, along with the goods, could burn to the ground in a matter of minutes, the motivation was obvious. It is unclear why Aymar took his slave with him to work. Still, the central point is that Molly quickly learned to handle the machinery, and she was considered a professional fireman as the rest of the boys.
Molly had a chance to prove her proficiency on one of the winter days when the whole brigade caught a horrible cold. There was a blizzard outside the window, but the fire did not pick its time. Molly was the only one in a position to answer the call, and she did her duty – in a chintz dress and apron, for she had no other clothes (Bishu & Headley, 2020). After her debut, Molly was inducted into the fire brigade and called Volunteer 11.
Numerous names of women who have tried to prove that firefighting is not a man’s profession have been erased by history, but a few have survived. For example, Lillie Hitchcock Coyt, patroness, and mascot of the Knickerbocker Volunteer Fire Department, was fascinated with firefighting from a young age. According to one of the versions, in 1858, when she was fifteen years old, she heard a fire alarm and rushed to the aid of the brigade (Bishu & Headley, 2020). Since then, Lillie accompanied firefighters everywhere: on calls, on parades, and at banquets.
Her example demonstrated and inspired other women to choose the profession they desired without fear of danger or judgment. Later the first females’ fire brigades at educational institutions and factories began to appear – one of the first was the division of Girton College in Great Britain, founded in 1878 (Danbold & Bendersky, 2020). Still, it was not until World War II that women began to infiltrate the job. The first lady officially hired as a firefighter in the United States was Sandra Forcier in 1973 (Danbold & Bendersky, 2020). Nowadays, more and more women have begun their careers as firefighters, and they are rescuing people and objects from fire effectively.
As stated ahead, World War II was a phenomenon that primarily influenced women to become firefighters. In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the government called upon females to replace their husbands and sons who had gone to the front. They joined the fire departments and made a significant contribution to protecting settlements from enemy shelling (Danbold & Bendersky, 2020). On duty to guard homes, working during air raids by German aircraft as firefighters, women prevented many fires, saved many people’s lives, and ensured the smooth operation of businesses.
Furthermore, the second wave of feminism and the equal employment opportunity movement led to official barriers for women having been removed since the 1970s. The persistent stereotypes about the prohibition of dangerous professions for women are an example that people have received a decreed idea of a female and a male since childhood. The list of restricted occupations reflects persistent stereotypes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society, which perpetuate traditional views of females as wives and mothers. It undermines her social status and educational and career prospects. The equal rights movement aimed to comprehend that everyone should have the possibility to develop in a field that brings pleasure (Danbold & Bendersky, 2020). Moreover, the state should oblige employers to improve the workplace and make it safe for all workers; otherwise, men are also vulnerable and put their lives at risk.
Therefore, it can be concluded that in modern society, both women and men can work as firefighters and protect the population and their property on an equal footing. Even though this profession was considered masculine, many movements for equal rights and the second wave of feminism have contributed to significant transformations. Moreover, the first women firefighters made a considerable contribution, proving that there are no genuinely male careers. Everyone should have freedom of choice, and gender stereotypes should not exist.
References
Bishu, S. G., & Headley, A. M. (2020). Equal employment opportunity: Women bureaucrats in male‐dominated professions. Public Administration Review, 80(6), 1063-1074. Web.
Danbold, F., & Bendersky, C. (2020). Balancing professional prototypes increases the valuation of women in male-dominated professions. Organization Science, 31(1), 119-140. Web.
Journal Reflection PDD 39 Vs. HSPD 5
The major similarity between PDD 39 and HSPD 5 is that both are security organs that safeguard Americans from and handle acts of terror both within and abroad. The differences between the two policies lie in their specific details. On the one hand, PDD 39 aims to minimize vulnerabilities, deter terrorism, respond to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and implement. On the other hand, HSPD 5’s purpose is to improve how the U.S. government manages domestic incidents by establishing a comprehensive, single national incident management system.
Possible reasons for potential tone differences in handling terrorism in the U.S. and attacks lie in promoting a coordinated and cooperative approach at every security level. The difference in approach and tone includes national authorities’ coordination, state cooperation, and, where appropriate, regional and international cooperation among security organizations. Additionally, the difference in tone and approach is associated with public-private partnerships in the private sector, the media, civil society, and state authorities.
With the creation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as the leading law in preventing and investigating international and domestic terrorism, the PDD 39 was successful. The FBI has been at the forefront of minimizing vulnerabilities through an expanded counterterrorism program by employing the policy. HSPD 5 has been successful in handling terrorism in the U.S. To date, the government has successfully created Homeland Security, whose mandate has been the implementation of plans, cadre, team formation, doctrine, and resource typing credentialing, among other activities.
With the advancements in technology, internet terrorist content is now easily detected and deleted faster than ever. Through crediting quantum computing, technology ensures accelerated processing of information which enables the tracing of terrorism and terror-related acts (Korstanje, 2020). Thanks to machine algorithms, it is now possible to detect and remove terror-related content from the internet in fifteen to twenty minutes (Korstanje, 2020). Further, increased expert knowledge exchange on technologies like synthetic biology, robotics, 3d printing, and nanotechnology, among others, help combat terrorism.
Reference
Korstanje, M. (2020). Terrorism, technology, and apocalyptic futures. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.