“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” – William Faulkner
“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.” – Confucius
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
We all have heard many times about this somewhat intriguing concept – “personality development”. While it is something that many people talk about, not many of us understand what the whole concept is about.
Indeed, what are we talking about here? Is “personality development” something about how we speak? Is it about the way we look? It is solely about our ability to connect with other people. The truth is that personality development covers all these things and even more.
In this article, we are going to explain what personality development is and we are going to give you simple tips on how you can develop your personality.
So how can we improve our personality?
Get to know yourself better. Learn more about your positive qualities. To begin developing your personality, you need to know where to start. And to do this, you need to identify things that you are good at. In other words, you need to find out what personality traits of yours you are happy with and what personality traits need improving.
One way of assessing your personality traits is taking a personality test, which can assess your current traits. After taking the test, choose one or two traits that you want to work on and make them your focus.
Remember about the positive mindset. It is more important than you think.
It goes without saying that changing your personality is not an easy and straightforward process. It is something that can be difficult and frustrating at times. So, it is vital that you stay positive all the time, no matter how much or little progress you make.
Changing yourself can be even more difficult if you are trying to improve a part of your personality that has been there for a long time. Obviously, if it is something you have had for several years it will not change overnight. You need to be patient. And positive.
Staying positive can also help you focus on your progress when it comes to developing your personality. Such an attitude will not allow you to get discouraged if something is not going the way you wanted to.
Commit to doing something daily. Set goals.
When was the last time you set a goal? Everybody knows that having a goal in life is important, but not everybody knows that having a daily goal is even better. Why? Well, if you set daily goals, you will be able to encourage new patterns of behaviours in yourself. You will help yourself sustain momentum in life.
What kind of daily goals can you set for yourself? The truth is that they don’t have to be big goals. For example, your daily goals can be something as simple as the following things. Washing the dishes. Reading two pages of your favourite book. Doing exercise. Meeting and socializing with new people. Going to a new place in your town that you have never been.
Be an avid reader.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one”. – George R.R. Martin
I know that there are not so many people out there who enjoy reading. But reading is one of the easiest and most effective ways of developing one’s personality.
Reading has enormous benefits for one’s personality development. It opens your mind. When reading books, you are exposed to the experiences and lives of other people. You learn from them. You become an open-minded person. Reading helps enhance your vocabulary – so as a result, you will become an eloquent and well-spoken person. You will also become a more cultured and intellectually sophisticated person.
There is also one other interesting benefit of being an avid reader. Reading books helps you to be less stressed. In the world we are living in, everyone is stressed to some extent, so the fact that books can help us relax a little is welcome news. When you pick up a book at the end of the day (by the way, it does not have to be a self-help book) you forget about the day’s events that made you feel stressed.
Remember about the importance of communication skills for your personality development.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”. – Peter Drucker.
We have talked a lot about communication skills in our blog. It is not because we have nothing else to say. Rather it is because communication skills are Important. And communication skills are not only about talking to other people. Communication skills are also about LISTENING. Yes, listening.
So, learn to listen to others and you will surely be able to develop your personality. If you want to be a good listener, you need to be able to pay attention to all information that is being conveyed to you. Be it implicit or explicit – it is equally valuable and important.
While communicating with and, listening, to others, you also need to demonstrate your emotional engagement. In other words, you need to demonstrate to your interlocutor that you are calm and compassionate. If you are bored or disinterred in the conversation, you must do your best not to show it to your interlocutor.
Remember about good nutrition.
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf
Although food and personality development may seem unrelated at first sight, the fact is that these two things are inextricably linked.
The food we eat has a direct effect on our personality and even mood. There are various scientific studies that demonstrate one simple fact: if we eat unhealthy food or food lacking in nutrients, we are more susceptible to depression, anxiety, mood swings and other unpleasant things.
So, a healthy diet is crucial for the wellness of your body and mind. After all, if you are ill, how can you think about developing your personality? So, if you really want to be a better person you should start by revisiting your diet and adding more healthy types of food.
Meet new people and expand your social circles.
“Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or do. Life is beautiful because of the people we meet”. – Simon Sinck.
Surround yourself with people. Make new friends. There are many, many benefits when it comes to expanding your social circles. First, you will feel that you become a happier person. And this is not surprising – various studies have shown that being around other people boosts our levels of happiness and makes us less stressed.
When we allow new people to walk into our lives, we allow them to share their unique perspectives with us. We are exposed to new experiences. We hear their stories that enrich us. In a way, they become our teachers and mentors. People can also offer their support when we need it.
Finally, being around people and helping people around you can help you find fulfilment in your life. Sometimes some people are wondering – what is the purpose of life? Even if they seem to have everything, they are still not happy. The secret is, in fact, simple – help others and you will feel happier.
Developing your personality has many important benefits. If you have a good personality, it means that people will gravitate toward you. They will want to spend more time with you. They will want to listen to you and follow your lead. These things are especially important for any leader.
Having a good and attractive personality is especially important when you are looking for a job. After all, when during your job interviews, it is your personality that hiring managers are looking at.
Finally, it is important to remember that personality development is vital not only in your professional life but also in your personal life too. A developed personality makes you a happier person with good mental health.
Russ Gadzhiev obtained his PhD in history and politics from University of Melbourne. He also holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Moscow State University of International Relations, a top-ranking diplomatic school. Russ is a strong education professional with a history of working in the higher education sector of Australia and effectively communicates with learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. He is enthusiastic about teaching and mentoring, writing, curriculum development, research, information management and public speaking. He is fluent in Russian, English, Spanish and Portuguese.
