No matter which university you went to and how much your organisation pays you, personality is the first and the last thing that will ensure your good image in society. Personality development is not as easy as it seems. It is a gradual process, which takes time. People tend to take it casually, while it is the most important thing one should focus upon in life, even more than finding a respectful job.
Most of the people realise the importance of having this trait much later, when they can do very little about it or have very less opportunities to do so. The best time to start working on your personality is your student life, when you are in high school and college. Don’t worry! We are not suggesting you any new course on personality development for the purpose. It is a gift for life, which can be inherited by anyone in this world in free, only if they seriously pay attention to it, consistently.
What constitutes a good personality?
When we say, “that person XYZ has a very good personality”, what do we actually mean to say? What constitutes a good personality? Is it the looks? The way he or she talks? Or the way you feel after meeting them? Honestly speaking, all of these constitutes a good personality. Your mind probably observes the following things in a person before you judge their personality –
- The first impression that you get of a person is by looking at them. Let’s term this notion as physical appearance. It is rather a small contributor to your personality as compared to other factors. This further constitutes the following things:
- The way of dressing.
- Facial expressions.
- Hand movements, gestures and other factors of non-verbal communication.
- The next process to judge the personality when you meet a new person is to talk to them. This forms the verbal communication trait of the personality and constitutes the following:
- His/her way of talking to you.
- His/her way of talking to others, especially with those who are below or above their status in some way or other. For example – their way of talking to poor beggars.
- The size of difference in their way of talking to different people. For example, the difference when they talk to waiters in a dhaba vs. in a 7-star restaurant.
- Their opinions or views and the manner in which they express their thoughts. Whether they are a patient listener and possess empathy.
- The last and probably the most important part to judge someone’s personality is to think about how they make you feel when you meet them. Are they condescending, ardent and generally over powering? Or are they patient, charming and optimistic? Do you feel powered and motivated when you meet them or they make you feel low?
These three points probably are the major traits of a good personality. To summarise, a person with good personality will have most of the following traits-
- Polite and respectful way of talking to everyone.
- Empathy. Understands your point of view.
- Considering optimistic and cheerful side of life.
- Has good health.
Now we are ready to move on to some tips on personality development for students. Again, these will remain just words if you don’t implement and remain inconsistent.
- Talk Optimistic and positive
It tells a lot about you. A person who is always optimistic, not only about his future, but in every aspect of his life, can attract all his dreams towards himself. Students fall prey to pessimism very easily. They tend to say negative things and find mistakes in everything more often, about their college, teacher, parents, food, etc. They generally fail to realise the impact created by saying and talking positive, while considering negativity as cool.
- ALWAYS try to find good in people and things. Change the way you observe things. You can start by observing yourself. How often do you say positive to yourself and to others in a day?
- Whenever you need to give feedback to someone, tell them about their strengths first. Then come to criticism, if any, in a polite manner. Make sure your words motivate them to do better instead of demotivating them. Appreciate more, criticise less.
- Be grateful for everything you have at the moment. Parents, friends, money, clothes, education, phone or anything else that comes to your mind. Write down 5 things you are grateful for today, right now!
Most importantly, talk positive to yourself and keep yourself motivated and cheerful. It will reflect hugely in your personality.
- 2. Be respectful
Being respectful towards anyone creates an extremely powerful and positive image of your personality in the mind of that person. Mostly, students at their age are not as respectful as a person with good personality should be.
- Start calling people older than you as sir/mam in public places like metro station, markets, parks etc. Respect them irrespective of the work they do. See the change yourself.
- Your parents and teachers must always be respected, no matter what. Respecting someone doesn’t mean degrading yourself to a lower position, but to consider the people in front of you as equal to you.
- Never ever show off. Do not ever make the other person think that they are far below you. Do not sound condescending.
- 3. Give preference to your health
Your health is one of the most important aspect of your personality. This doesn’t mean that you must necessarily be in good body shape and size. Good health is being fit, physically and mentally.
- Exercise regularly. It does two things – (a) makes you glow. Keeps you fit and energetic, and (b) keeps you in a good and positive mood.
- Do everything required for your mental health. Cut toxic people and relations, meditate more often, talk to your loved ones more, write a diary.
- 4. Be confident
Everywhere you go, take your confidence with you. While you speak, while you sit for your exams and while you put forward your own opinions, confidence is the only thing that will help you sail through every difficult moment. Read on our previous blog to get more insights into this topic.
