What comes to your mind when you think of the word ‘personality’. Most often we use it to refer to the physical appearance of a person. Improving physical appearance is a major factor in the development of personality, because people form opinions by what they see in a person physically, and respond accordingly. Even though outward characteristics matter, other than looks there are many other factors that contribute greatly to one’s personality. We cannot do much about our height, weight, stature and complexion as they are beyond our power and control.
What is personality?
Personality is the set of characteristics or qualities that combines to form an individual’s distinctive character. According to psychology, it is the integrated organization of all the psychological, intellectual, emotional and physical characteristics of an individual. Personality encompasses everything, how you look, how you behave, how you speak, what you speak, and so on. In addition to that, it impacts decision making. Personality is the brand image of a person.
Personality consists of three key elements . they are character, behaviour and attitude. These are the factors that are interrelated to each other and makes a person distinct from others.
Character vs Behaviour vs Attitude
Character is the very essence of a person. It is the way he/she thinks, feels or behaves. Our character is influenced by our surrounding environment. What we learn from our parents, friends, family, colleagues, peers, sometimes even unknown faces adds to our character.
Behaviour is the external expression or outward appearance of a person i.e. the way we act in particular situations. It is not supported by the person’s mentality.
Attitude is all about a person’s mind-set. It is the feeling or opinion we have about something or someone.
What is personality development?
Basically, Personality development is the process of improvement of behaviour, communicational skills, interpersonal relationships, attitude towards life and ethics.
The personality development starts right from our birth. During the course of life various factors continuously keep influencing the formation and development of specific traits in an individual’s personality. Some of the most common factors are temperament, education, financial conditions, biological system, surrounding, environmental factors, family background, education, and the cultural beliefs.
Personality can be measured on the basis of how you interact with your surroundings. People watch you and form an impression about you. For example, in an interview candidate tries to impress examiner by exhibiting positive aspects of his personality.
Personality development is the key to success
We hear the term personality development more often these days. The abundance of the usage of this term today as seen in the society signals its importance.
A person’s career success is directly influenced by his effective personality. Below mentioned are some of the ways to improve your personality:
- Appearance matters: One of the major factors in the development of personality is physical appearance. Personality is the image that you present to the outer world.
- Think positive: Not everything happens the way you want it to be. Some may turn out to be better than anticipated and others end up worse.
- Celebrate other’s success: Though, it is really hard to find happiness in others prosperity, it is not unachievable. Being happy for others is a sign of great personality
- Be Confident: Way to success is not an easy path. If we are confident enough, we tend to take risks. Thus, it widens our life experiences.
When you try to boost your personality, you find new ways to elevate your knowledge and better yourself so that you can reach your full potential. Improving yourself is helpful for your present and creates hope for the future. Nowadays, there are a lot of personality development courses available which you can make use of. They sure do help, but finally it depends solely on you. you have to work hard to enhance your personality and reach your goals and have to learn how to interact with your co-workers, improve your weaknesses, reach your strengths or modify yourself according to situations.
Freud’s personality theory:
Freud’s personality theory (1923) or the psychodynamic theory saw the psyche structured into three parts: the id, ego and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.
- The id refers to the part of the unconscious mind that is characterized by instinct and irrationalism. The id is responsible for the basic needs and desires of every individual. For example, feelings of hunger, sexual desire and aggression are all products of the id’s functioning. The id will ensure that the individual gets what he wants irrespective of whether his acts are rational and ethical.
- The second part of the Frued’s psychodynamic theory , the ego, arises from the id. The conscious mind functions on the basis of the ego. It’s geared towards problem-solving and reality-testing, enabling the person to maintain self-control. It will try to achieve what the id wants by incorporating the beliefs that are put forward by the super ego. In doing so, it prevents feelings of guilt while ensuring that the id is content. Thus the individual does not experience stress from deprivation or sin.
- The super ego is the force that develops as a result of the values and morals that one picks up or is taught as his mind begins to gain consciousness. The unconscious mind learns concepts of right and wrong, good and evil, as well as feelings such as shame and pride. It forbids unacceptable behaviours and punishes with feelings of guilt when a person does something they shouldn’t. All these form what is commonly known as one’s “conscience.”