Personality Development: What does it take to have a great personality
Whether it’s the first job interview, first public speaking note, an important client meeting, first day at college, first date or an outing with office colleagues, we put a lot of thought into how we dress, behave, talk, and how we carry ourselves, at least for that very day. Don’t we? It is because in the end we all want to be liked and paid attention to – it is the most basic human trait!
However, have you ever wondered, what actually grabs our attention when we first meet someone? Is it the way they talk, walk, dress, look or is it all about their confidence? While answers can be many, it is in reality a mix of all that determines how instantly we feel drawn to the other person. All these characteristic combined are together known as ‘personality’
Often influenced by our upbring, family culture, environmental factors, genetics, and social circle, our personality takes shape with growing age. However, while we all want to stand out in the crowd, how can we make sure to develop a good personality?
At times, we tend to assume that personality has a lot to do with looks, however, is it really about putting on a neat, fine- ironed dress, fashioned with blow dried hair, chic footwears, and decent makeup? Or does having an appealing personality entail more?
My college friend, Parul would instantly lit up the room as she entered into it – everyone in the room would be drawn towards her, Parul herself would greet people as though she had been eagerly waiting for it, she would smile and shake hands with everyone with utmost joy, people of all age groups were easily drawn towards her, she always seemed genuinely interested in everyone she communicated with. It was never about her dress, footwears or makeup but something more important!
Perhaps what we often fail to notice is that the very first step towards developing a great personality is feeling confident in your own skin!
You would notice people with the most attractive personalities being so comfortable with who they are. Why is that so? Because when we bring out our true individual selves, we feel confident which further reflects in our personality.
Besides accepting yourself, some things that have really helped me to build my personality over the last few years are below:
1.Being comfortable in what you are wearing- Comfort is my first priority. Be it a khadi kurti, saari or a formal one piece, choose comfort over fashion, and you will never fail to shine in the crowd!
2. Meeting new people- we often tend to get too comfortable within our own people,which defines our comfort zone. On the contrary, growth comes through meeting different people whose opinions don’t match ours. That’s when we really grow, evolve! Moving from India into this beautiful country has taught me a lot about it!
3. Being a good listener: One skill I have developed over the last few years is the art of listening. When people talk to me, I listen with empathy and attention and that has always helped me build better relationships as it always makes conversations healthy and justified.
5. Appreciate more: What never fails to make people truly happy is ‘appreciation’, if all it takes is a compliment to bring a smile on someone’s face, then let’s give it in abundance.
6,An optimistic attitude goes a long way: People always look upto to someone who can motivate us and talk about the brighter side of a problem. We humans often tend to worry about problems rather than finding a solution, however diverting the conversation towards the possible solutions and new possibilities can really brighten up conversations and bring joy.
We all are beautiful in our own ways, but shaping our personalities by in culcalting some new habits can really take us towards a positive trajectory in life. I hope my learnings serve helpful in achieving the same.
Stay tuned for more!
-PUJA GUPTA