‘PERSONALITY IS CONCERNED WITH THE

PSYCHOLOGICAL PATTERN OF AN INDIVIDUAL’

DHRUV’S PROJECT

Personality is concerned with the psychological pattern of an individual— the

thoughts, emotions and feelings—that are unique to a person. In fact, the
totality of character, attributes and traits of a person are responsible for
moulding their personality. These inherent personality traits and the different
soft skills interact with each other and make a person what they are. It helps
bring out a number of intrinsic qualities of a person, which are a must in any
responsible position. In simple words, personality is a set of qualities that make
a person distinct from another. The word ‘personality’ originates from the
Latin word ‘persona’, which means a mask. In the theatre of the ancient Latin-
speaking world, the mask was just a conventional device to represent or typify a
particular character. It is the sum of the characteristics that constitute the
mental and physical being of a person including appearance, manners, habits,
taste and even moral character. The personality of a person is how they
presents themself to the world; it is how others see them.
Personality development, is a part of human nature. It is the process of
improving and grooming one’s outer and inner self to make a positive
difference in one’s life. It has five different aspects, namely extraversion,
agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. Although these are
said to be the five main aspects of personality development, several theorists
have also written on different aspects. Some of these include the mental,
spiritual, emotional, physical, social and moral aspects.
 The human mind even though quite fragile, holds a lot of power. The
frontal lobe of the brain, located in the front of the head, is involved heavily in
personality characteristics, decision making and movement. It is the primary
domain of psychology. From rectifying problematic thought patterns to
uncovering the workings of memory, mental illness, and emotions,
psychology is heavily involved in the analysis of the mind.
One often comes across statements such as ‘You are what you think’,
‘Attitude determines altitude’, ‘I think, therefore I am’, etc. The emphasis here
is on the mind and its ability to think, as thoughts shape our personality by
influencing our emotions, actions and habits. Thoughts are ideas, perspectives,
opinions, and beliefs about ourselves and our external environment. They are
of two types. When we have a thought and harbour it, it can be negative or
positive. Depending on how much we focus on a thought, its mental energy
gets multiplied or divided.
Many a time, external incidents themselves do not affect our state of
mind, it is how we perceive them that affects it. People differ considerably from
each other in their habitual patterns of thought, feeling and action. Not
surprisingly, these differences are reflected not only in what people think, feel,
and do, but also in what they say about what they think, feel, or do. Clearly,
how we think affects how we feel–our emotional state of mind. But emotions
alone don’t make up our personality. There are actions and habits too. The
more positive we are emotionally, the more novel and action-oriented we
become.
In a nutshell, thoughts affect emotions, and emotions influence our
actions. And over a period of time, thoughts, emotions and actions become
habits. Once they become a habit, they slip past our conscious minds and get
automated. They then begin to constitute our very personality. They not only
define our personality but also affect how we project ourselves to the world. At
the core of who we are, are our thoughts. We are defined by how we perceive
external situations and react to them. In general, when external events match
our expectations, we are flooded with positive thoughts. We confidently set out
to achieve things. But when things go awry, we succumb to negativity. We feel
sad and dejected. We even begin to doubt our own abilities. Thankfully, our
thinking habits can be changed. We can choose to view everything in a positive
light and harbour optimism or view things in a negative light and nurture
pessimism. Ultimately, the choice is ours.
There are tons of benefits offered by personality training. It is very
helpful skill development. The remarkable benefit offered by personality
development courses is that it boosts confidence. One can gain confidence by
regular interaction with teachers and classmates. During the personality
development trainings, students get regular assignments. By completing these
assignments, the person gets better at speaking skills with time.
Oral representation is very important, especially during showing
presentations in the meetings or appearing for job interviews. Personality
development depends on how you express your feelings, ideas, etc. So, if one
cannot express one’s ideas in front of others, then one’s value may decrease in
the work-life. Therefore, it is very important to instil this feature.
Personality development focuses on optimistic ideas. One starts to see
things differently. So, one has positive thoughts and aim at the optimistic
outcomes rather than the failures. It reduces stress and encourages risk-taking.
The more one test their limits, the more is the chance at success.
Another benefit of having a good personality is decision-making. One
can make proper decisions for oneself. Moreover, one push one’s limits and can
get more success. Decision-making comes as an integrated quality of all the
above qualities. So, if one is confident enough about one’s decisions and look at
the positive outcomes, one takes the decisions with a calm and subtle mind.
Personality, unlike what many people believe, is not in-born and static. It
can be consciously developed and changed. With conscious effort, one can
project the desired personality. For example, in preparation for an interview
session, or in one’s professional career, a person may have to work on his
personality. By consciously working on the desired traits over time and
projecting the desired ones, one can make a very tangible change to their
original self to meet the expectations.
One’s personality is a signal that others read at all times. This includes
every gesture and every articulation of the person. This signal is read by the
interviewer or by superiors in a professional world. In turn, opinion gets
formed and choices are made based on such impressions. In one’s career, it is
therefore important to recognize at all times that there is a direct correlation
between the personality signal one sends out and one’s career growth. Those
who do not align these expectations may get stunted in their careers. There is
no one right or wrong personality. It varies by the role and situation at hand.
An aggressive personality that is critical to achieve success in some situations
may be counterproductive in another situation. Similarly, an introverted
personality may be better-suited for some roles than an extroverted personality.
It is also important to be conscious that one’s personality constantly emits a
signal for others to read. Thus, it is important for one to have a deep
realization of the role one intends to pursue and its expectations—and work on
grooming the desired personality traits.
There are quite a few ways to improve your personality. Listening to
others is one of them. There is nothing more appealing than having someone
listen to one intently making one feel like they are the only person in the
world. One should also start reading more. The more one reads and cultivates
new interests, the more interesting one is to others. When one meets new
people, it allows one to share what one knows and to exchange one’s views
with them. Being a good conversationalist also relates to how much one reads
and knows. Once one has much to contribute, one should learn how to talk
about it with others. No one can read about or know everything, so it's
refreshing to learn from others those things one doesn’t have the time to read
about themself. There is nothing more tiresome than trying to talk to someone
who has no opinion on anything. A conversation has nowhere to go if one has
nothing to expound on. If, however, one has an uncommon point of view or
differing opinion, one is more interesting and stimulating to be with socially. A
unique outlook expands everyone’s perspective.
Making the effort to meet new people especially those unlike one is also
one important way of changing and grooming oneself. It not only exposes one
to different cultures and alternative ways of doing things, it broadens one’s
horizons. And last but definitely not the least, the next most tiresome thing
after having no opinions is trying to be something one is not. Moulding oneself
to fit in, or be accepted, usually backfires. Since everyone is unique, expressing
that uniqueness is what makes one interesting. Attempting to be a carbon copy
of someone else not only falls flat, but it also reveals a lack of authenticity.
Humans have the power and ability to shape their personalities however
they wish. When they develop themselves to be all that they can, they
contribute to their own, as well as the happiness of others.