Essay Sample on Personal Fable

The Basis of a Personal Fable

Do you know what a personal fable is and have you ever experienced one? A personal fable can happen at any time, in any place. Sometimes, you might not even realize that you may have experienced a personal fable. Undergoing a personal fable is common during one's development during their childhood. Now, personal fables may be common, but could they lead to risky behavior, or is it normal? Knowing what a personal fable is and why adolescents or children experience personal fables is all a part of one's youth. I have also experienced personal fables throughout my life as well as many others. Fortunately, I have overcome my personal fables and learned from them.

Background Information on Personal Fables

According to Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development, a personal fable is a belief that often occurs in adolescence, that they are unique in their own way and different from other people. For example, a student has a giant paper due in a class and feels that they are the only ones who have a big workload. Now, they may think this, but everyone else in the class also has to write a paper and is likely dealing with the same emotions. Now, even though personal fables are common and are not abnormal, they could become risky. Personal fables may seem harmless, but they can become a basis for risky behavior (Alberts et al., 2007). When young adulats think they are unique, they think they can do what others can’t. Some risky behaviors adolescents may experience are thinking they can drive home drunk or can drive without a license (Psychologenie, 2015). When youths think like this, it can lead to dangerous situations. Personal fables signify how these youths do not distinguish themselves from others; this can lead to them thinking everyone may be obsessed with them since they are obsessed with themselves (Elkinds, 1967). Narcissism and being biased are the possible outcome of teenagers dealing with personal fables. Just because someone experiences a personal fable doesn’t mean that they will become narcissistic and arrogant. It depends on how the person deals with the situation; do they learn from it or do they become flattered with self-worth? The way that personal fables play a part in a child's development is through cognitive development theory. Cognitive development is when children think, explore, and figure out situations on their own. When children start to experience personal fables, they are thinking in a complex way. They begin to think about new questions or ideas about themselves (Heath, 2020). During an adolescent's development, they start to assume that they are being observed by others frequently. However, that usually isn’t the case in most circumstances (Psychologenie, 2015).

Understanding and dealing with Personal Fables

Why do these personal fables occur, can they be dealt with? Personal fables occur because adolescents are solely concerned with their point of view rather than other individuals' perspectives of a situation. Adolescents focus themselves on being the center of attention, which is how these situations occur (Psychologenie, 2015). Being the center of attention causes teenagers to feel that their emotions are more intense than others making them to focus less on the peers around them. If teenagers emotions become so intense, they can start to feel frustrated and lonely; they may feel that they are the only ones who can’t accomplish something (Psychologenie, 2015). When an adolescent starts to feel more alone, they are less likely to connect with others causing social and emotional difficulties. Though personal fables have downsides, they do have some prositive aspects. Personal fables can lead to an adolescent feeling powerful and more capable of doing a situation than others (Psychologenie, 2015). For example, a music player thinks that they should be the first chair because they believe they play the best in their section. Helping someone who is going through a personal fable takes time and is not easy. Healthy ways of helping someone deal with a personal fable are: empathetic, understanding, patient, encouraging, and firm (Psychologenie, 2015). It is important to distinguish reality from an imaginary world. Being understanding and empathetic helps the adolescent not feel so alone and them being able to talk about their personal fable. It is also good to be encouraging to have the adolescent lend towards making good decision making. Lastly, being firm toward the adolescent can show that the helper cares for the adolescent and wants them to help them. Personal fables can be dealt with, but it isn’t easy and will take time for the adolescent to differentiate fantasy from reality. Personal fables can occur at any time and anywhere where the adolescent feels unique in some kind of situation. It is good to understand that personal fables are normal for a developing adolescent, but be cautious because it could potentially lead to risky behavior.

My Personal Experience with Personal Fables

I have had quite a few experiences with personal fables throughout my childhood development. I have always thought of personal fables, but I haven’t acted on them. One example was last year during track, my coach put me in the 300-meter hurdles. I had never done hurdles in my life, but my coach needed me to run them to win a league meet. I had one day to practice before my track meet. Now this track meet was sort of a practice meet before the major league meet. When my practice meet came, I ran the hurdles. I fell twice and pushed over the last hurdle. In that moment I felt that no one had experienced what I had just done; no one would understand my embarrassment. After the practice track meet the next day was my league meet. I was completely nervous to do the hurdles again after what happened at my last track meet. It finally came time for me to run the hurdles and I was freaking out. When I ran the hurdles again, I didn’t fall and I placed second. This made me so happy. I felt that I was the only one who could learn hurdles in a day and place second in my meet. However, that wasn’t the case because when I talked to the girl who finished a second before me, she was in a similar situation. She had also just learned to do hurdles because her coach put her in hurdles to try and win leagues. I realized that people all around me are dealing with similar situations and I should assume that I am different from others. I feel it is better to talk with others about situations to see who else has experienced them. It could help with opening up the mind to a different perspective of a personal fable. Another personal fable I had was when I was in 9th grade and I had to take French 101. I had never taken a foreign language before and everyone in my class had taken a Pre-French class in middle school. I was very nervous because my whole class had some prior knowledge of French and I did not. Yet again I felt alone in a situation where no one could understand me. Deep down I knew that many students had taken a foreign class without any prior knowledge of it. Sometimes it is hard to accept that you aren't alone because I wanted to have an excuse if I did badly on a test. I could blame it on not taking a previous French class, even though it wouldn’t be the case. Also, when I finished the class and received an A, I wanted to make myself feel better by getting an A in a foreign language with no previous knowledge. All in all, I wanted to feel different from others, to make myself feel better. Learning from these experiences, I now know that it is better to not feel alone and special in your situation. Rather than isolating yourself from others, try making connections with others about your experiences. I have gone through many experiences of personal fables and I am glad that in my more recent experiences I have talked them out with others. Not only do I feel better about myself engaging with others, but I can also feel empathy towards others as well. My personal fables will help in the future by opening up my mind to having a different standpoint of an occasion and knowing that I am not alone. I feel I can learn from the personal fables I may experience in my life to make me a better person. 

To conclude

To summarize, personal fables are an important part of an adolescent's cognitive development. Experiencing personal fables can lead to complex styles of thinking. Even though personal fables can become risky, if it is handled properly, they can become a learning experience. It is important to know and understand what a personal fable is. If someone encounters an adolescent experiencing a personal fable, it is significant to deal with it properly and healthily. Through my experiences, it is possible to overcome personal fables. Even if you may feel alone, you never truly are; all you have to do is open up your mind and look at the reality of life.