PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

MALDIVES BUSINESS SCHOOL

Objectives:
◦ Personality - Investigate factors that affect personal
identity, personality

◦ Self- concept - Analyze how you view yourself, how self –

concept is formed, how it develops positively and
negatively

◦ Self Esteem & Character - Propose strategies that promote

physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development
Your Personality
◦ In order to understand yourself, you need to understand the
factors that help shape your personality.
◦ Personality – the group of behavioral and emotional traits that
distinguishes an individual
◦ The sum of all the traits that you have inherited or acquired.
 Factors That Shape Personality
1. Heredity – the sum of traits that are passed from your families
to you
◦ Inherited traits – human traits determined by heredity
◦ Common traits amongst humans (i.e. two eyes, two legs, etc.)
◦ Some characteristics of our behavior are genetic, which we
inherit. Some of the traits like physical height, slimness, dexterity,
intellectual capacity, ability to learn, logical power, etc. are also
inherited. All these have a significant influence on our behavioral
patterns.
Factors That Shape Personality
◦ Heredity can also cause differences among humans
◦ The color of the eyes, the shape of the ears, and length of arms vary
from person-to-person.
◦ It also affects such traits as your attitude, intelligence, and
behavior.
 Factors That Shape Personality
2. Environment – is all of the conditions, objects, and
circumstances that surround an individual
◦ Factors such as your family situation,
neighborhood, religion, and friends make your
environment unique to you.
◦ It affects your thoughts, feelings and actions.
◦ Acquired traits – traits developed as a result of
environmental factors
Factors That Shape Personality
3. Response to your environment/Nature of people with whom
we interact
◦ People influence each other and such influences shape the
personality.
◦ Example: Suppose you went to the same theater and viewed the
same movie with a group of friends.
What would be the various reactions to the movie?
Factors That Shape Personality
4. Culture:
◦ Culture shapes our personal values and preferences.
◦ Culture relates to a shared system of beliefs, attitudes,
possessions, attributes, customs, and values that define group
behavior.
Factors That Shape Personality
◦ Values are assumptions about ‘how things ought to be’ in the
group. Thus, culture plays a significant role in influencing the
behavior of an individual.
Your Self-Concept
◦ Self-concept – is the way you see yourself
◦ Self-concept is generally thought of as our individual perceptions
of our behavior, abilities, and unique characteristics—a mental
picture of who you are as a person.
◦ There is no one else in the world exactly like YOU!
◦ What is included in your self-concept?
◦ Your appearance, your personality traits, and your abilities
Your Self-Concept
Self-concept can develop in both positive and negative ways.
◦ 1. Self-concept examples that are positive
• A person thinks of themselves as an intelligent individual
• A person thinks of themselves as a competent employee

◦ 2. Self-concept examples that are negative

• A person thinks of themselves as being cold and
unapproachable
• A person thinks of themselves as a lazy and inefficient
employee
 How is Your Self-Concept
Formed?
◦ The formation of self-concept begins during early childhood. It
continues to develop and evolve throughout our life. Our self-
concept can affect various aspects of our lives, including our
careers.
◦ Most theories suggest that there’s a strong relationship between
self-concept and our motivation levels at work.

◦ It’s natural for you to compare yourself with others – that’s one
way your self-concept is formed!

◦ Parents, friends, teachers, and other family members (reactions to

your behavior)
What is Self-Esteem?
◦ Self-esteem is the value that we place
on ourselves. Our self-esteem often
depends on how we evaluate ourselves.

◦ In other words, we make personal

comparisons and validate how others
respond to us.

◦ For example, when our managers

respond favorably to our achievements,
we are encouraged by our
performance and our self-esteem grows.
Self-Esteem
◦ You can learn new skills and take
reasonable risks.
◦ It may increase or decrease.. this is
NORMAL.

◦ With time you will be able to pay

less attention to those events that
lower your self-esteem.
 Building Self-Esteem
How can you boost feelings of self-worth?
◦ No one person is less worthy than the
next person, and no one is deemed
more important. Knowing this detail is
crucial.

◦ To feel more confident and have

healthy self-esteem, it helps to put aside
fears of being worth less than others.

◦ Focus on what you can change.

◦ Be nice to yourself - make an effort to

be kind to yourself and, if you do slip up,
try to challenge any negative thoughts.
Building Self-Esteem
◦ Measure Yourself Honestly
◦ Practice Positive Self-Talk
◦ Accept Things About Yourself You Can Not Change
◦ Focus on the Present
◦ Take One Step At A Time – in overwhelming situations
◦ Be a Friend to Yourself
◦ Be around people who remind you of your value – have good
meaningful friendships
◦ Actively work on things you can change – make a plan
Building Self-Esteem
A higher Self-Esteem:
◦ Empowers you to look ahead
with optimism.
◦ Expands your horizons.
◦ Helps you focus on what you
want to become.
◦ Gives you the mental power
you need to deal with certain
situations
◦ Provides you opportunities.
◦ Helps you realize your goals!
 Qualities That Help Build
Character
◦ Self-Discipline – to be able to direct self and control behavior in
achieving goals

◦ Responsibility- to be accountable to your actions

◦ Honest & Integrity – to be real, genuine, truthful; to respect others
and self
 Qualities That Help Build
Character
◦ Loyalty - to care sincerely about the well-being of family, friends,
and country
◦ Compassion & Mercy – to take seriously the realities of other
persons, their lives, and their emotions, as well as the external
circumstances
 Qualities That Help Build
Character
◦ Motivation & Hard Work – inner urge that prompts individual to
take positive action
◦ Patience & Perseverance – sets realistic goals and work hard to
achieve them
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then
when you know better, do better."

- Maya Angelou