Introduction:
People often talk about Personality as if it were a product, like a brightly coloured tie that gives life to an old suit. Not only that, but sometimes we speak as if Personality consists of attractive and admirable traits: affection, charm, and honesty.
But we don’t see that Personality is much more complex than the regular use of the term indicates and includes both positive and negative traits.
Origin:
The Latin term “persona,” which means to talk through (mask), is where the word “personality” first appeared. Actors wore masks when performing in plays in ancient Greece and Rome.
Therefore, personality is employed to sway other people based on outward appearance. But personality is more than just appearance.
Definitions of Personality:
Merriam-Webster defines it as “the quality or state of being the person /personal existence.”
Wikipedia defines it as the set of the characteristic behaviours and emotional patterns created from environmental and biological factors, which change over time.”
American Psychological Association defines “Personality as the enduring characteristics and behaviour that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns.”
Since this post is about the simple understanding of what Personality is, we can answer the question of what is Personality as:
Personality is the character and behaviour of a person. Put, Personality is You.
It is a fact that the psychological elements of an individual are not readily known to others. An individual’s Personality is not a simple fact or occurrence that can be understood merely by his appearance.
Personality is the whole feature of an individual from a common point of view that includes a person’s physical, psychological, and emotional factors.
Personality is the feeling of distinct characteristics that differentiate a person. It is an accumulation of an individual’s physical, psychological and behavioural components contributing to his ‘good personality’ or, according to the existence or absence of the distinctive features.
Some of these, which are notable, are worth discussing.
Personality is a collection of features that create an impression that can be appealing or frightening, good or negative.
A personality most clearly expressed in interactions with other people embraces moods, attitudes, and opinions.
It includes inherent and acquired behavioural characteristics that distinguish one from another and can be observed in people’s interactions with the environment and the social group.
Factors that define your Personality.
In general, the individual has stable characteristics that determine his behaviour, which also allows for predicting the individual’s response to a particular circumstance.
Personality can be classified by attitudes or the subjective part of the individual’s mental health, such as self-esteem, the judgment carried out by the individual as well as his own, and the well-being it presents.
Four fundamental factors define your Personality.
Your Personality results from different variants that shape your way of thinking, acting, and relating to the world. It is fantastic to know that each experience leaves a small mark on you that adds to the pieces that make up your identity.
To understand who you are and what are the aspects that make you unique, you need to realize that four fundamental factors make up your Personality; some of these factors are not entirely up to you.
However, by knowing them, you will have a better handling of them, and you will be able to make more conscious choices about your way of being. Let’s review the following:
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Physical constitution
Are the morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics that constitute you? This includes your muscular, bone, glandular, nervous, and sensory structures.
Many of these characteristics have a genetic-hereditary origin, although external situations can cause temporary or permanent significant changes. For example, degenerative diseases alter your biological systems’ full functioning.
Environmental factors such as air, water, and food quality that nourish your body and that, in the long term, can hurt your physiology can also be included in this space.
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Temperament
It’s about a biochemical predisposition that makes you susceptible to presenting different psycho-physical responses. For many authors, temperament is also an inherited element and is part of your personality core.
In general terms, temperament is defined around six years of age, and from that moment, an identity base is built on which you gradually configure your Personality.
According to Hippocrates of Kos, four bodily fluids define our temperament, corresponding to elements of nature: blood – air, black bile – earth, phlegm – water, and yellow bile – fire.
The predominance of some of these fluids defines your temperament and guides you toward certain behaviours and types of thinking.
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Character
It responds to a cultural structure that configures people’s morality. Your character creates stable patterns of behaviour that define your development in family, social, and work circles.
Many elements that build your character are of ethical origin and were implanted in you through education in the first years of life.
These elements usually determine your concepts of « good » and « bad » and create within you that voice of consciousness that helps you decide how you should behave.
In agreement with your character, the life objectives you pursue are configured, and some self-imposed limitations are created that could slow you down from projecting more ambitious goals.
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Intelligence
Your personality’s more dynamic aspect is distinguished by your ability to adapt to new situations and solve life’s problems.
Here comes your way of interpreting the information you receive from the outside world and your willingness to face concepts that contradict what you think you know.
Although many factors are involved in the development of your intelligence, it is essential to note that your ability to solve problems and assimilate information is not directly related to your academic or cultural level.
In other words, an intelligent person is not always the one who studies the most, but the one who solves the best – although of course, if you stay open/to constant learning. You have good study habits and can take better advantage of the full potential of your intellect.
Importance of Personalities
Personality reveals distinctive traits of an individual’s mind and behaviour. It is a pattern of collective behaviour that includes a person’s behavioural, mental, temperamental, and emotional characteristics that make one socially appealing. It exhibits a person’s quality that is visible and impresses or disturbs others.
Personality plays a crucial role in organizational behaviour because how people think, feel, and behave affects many aspects of the workplace. People’s personalities influence their behaviour in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions.
Personality development may help you acquire acceptance and appreciation from society and the individuals around you.
Personal growth is essential not just in one’s professional life but also in one’s personal life. It makes a person disciplined, timely, and valuable to their organization.
- Listen first, then speak-
This is one of the finest formulas for feeling at ease while conversing with anyone. People are always looking for someone to listen to them. It may be simpler to grasp if you apply this formula to yourself. If you are talking to someone, you would prefer that person to listen to you. If you try, your Personality will become much more appealing.
- Pay Close Attention-
Simply listening in a conversation is insufficient. To make the discussion more engaging, you should listen to the other person carefully so that you may ask more fascinating questions and show the other person that you’re listening. This sort of conversation can entice that person to come back to you.
- Do not compare yourself with others—
As I told you earlier, everyone is unique; therefore, do not compare yourself with another person. If you compare yourself with others, you will constantly feel awful and guilty.
- Learn from mistakes-
No individual is flawless in his life. When you make a mistake, attempt to learn from it and strive never to repeat it. We frequently see people who make mistakes quite demotivated for some time, but this is natural.
Nothing is wrong with this because it is only a component of our body’s sentiments and emotions. All you have to do in this case is to find something positive in your mistake since it will relieve your sorrow, and then you should figure out what caused your error and learn from it.
- Always believe in yourself and be confident-
A person can do anything because he believes in himself. Believing in yourself makes you appear to others as one of the most appealing and strong personalities.
When you show that you are confident and believe in yourself, people regard you as a powerful and beautiful individual today.
- Deal with your difficulties—
If you are doing anything and encountering several problems, you should deal with them and strive to fix them. Doing this will strengthen your cognitive abilities, which will benefit your Personality.
Personality characteristics describe individuals’ distinctive thoughts, feelings, and behaviour patterns. A person with a high extraversion score is likely to be amiable in a variety of situations and over time.
Personality traits also imply consistency and stability.
The following are the ten most prevalent personality traits:
– Openness is the propensity to accept new arts, ideas, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours.
– Conscientiousness: The tendency to be careful, arrive on time for appointments, follow regulations, and work hard.
– Extroversion is the tendency to be chatty, outgoing, and enjoy the company of others, particularly when pleased by social gatherings and attention.
– Agreeableness: The tendency to agree with and follow others rather than express opinions and judgments.
– Neuroticism: The tendency to regularly experience unpleasant emotions, such as wrath, worry, and sadness, and being interpersonally sensitive.
– Machiavellianism: People with this tendency manage the behaviour of others, typically through deceit, and are frequently motivated by money and power, manipulating others to achieve their goals.
– Need for accomplishment (motivated): Those with a strong drive for success aspire to accomplish a great deal and set high standards of excellence. They strive for long-term objectives by working hard and persistently. According to research, people with solid ambitions have an impact on economic growth.
– The desire for cognition: People with a strong need for awareness, like understanding things, are ready to put in the substantial cognitive effort to do so. Such folks like learning and the process of trying to understand new ideas.
– Authoritarians believe in solid social hierarchies in which they are entirely submissive to those above them and demand total obedience from their subordinates. Because it is rigorous in its devotion to norms, the authoritarian Personality is highly uncomfortable with ambiguity.
– Narcissism: The narcissistic Personality is characterized by excessive vanity, conceit, and selfishness. Narcissists commonly experience sensations such as a loss of empathy and gratitude for others.
Good and Bad Personalities:
What exactly is a good personality?
When we remark that someone has a “good personality,” we imply that they are likeable, fascinating, and a pleasure to be around. Everyone wishes to be appealing to others, so having a pleasant personality is crucial—possibly even more so than excellent looks.
What is a Bad Personality?
Negative characteristics relate to character flaws such as shyness, lack of confidence, self-criticism, or arrogance. Negative character qualities don’t allow us to attain our goals and use our full ability in social connections or at the workplace.
Conclusion:
A well-developed personality makes you attractive, accepted, and presentable. It helps you face the world with a smile and decreases stress and disputes.
The information shared above is enough to get you started on your journey to Personality development by helping you understand your Personality.