Brighten Your Career Path This Diwali - Invest in Yourself! 
Introduction
When walking around a party you are the host of, how do you greet and deal with each guest? Is it a scripted ‘Hello, Hi, It’s so nice of you to be here’? That, yes, but is that all? Take a minute to think and you’ll realize that your mannerism changes with every individual you deal with, on a closer inspection you may even find that each guest treats each person in the room including you differently.
Every individual has their own characteristic behavior, while one of your friends might be very outgoing and outspoken the other could be shy and contemplative. This difference in characters is what makes up the personality of a person. No two people can be the same, each has a different way of looking at the world and a different way of interacting with it. An individuals personality are dependent on various factors, their past, the upbringing, the environment, financial conditions, genetic factors, the problems and hardships or the ease of their life.
All of this is encapsulated in their person. Our personality influences how we think, what we think, our expectations, values and belief.
Personality development is essentially the development and enhancement of personality traits that will help bring a positive change in our lives. Every single one of us has a unique personality that can be refined, developed and polished.
For the job market, a good personality goes a long way. For most job interviews, a candidate with a good personality is likely to get precedence over a candidate with slightly higher qualification but an unrefined personality.
WHY IS A GOOD PERSONALITY APPEALING – IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
A few years ago personality development did not hold as much importance, the idea of personality as a factor affecting career opportunities was not very popular, people relied on knowledge and qualifications for their desired jobs. However, in today’s world personality plays as central a role in getting jobs as knowledge and experience.
Improves social skills
A good personality influences the people around, the charm and aura of a refined personality creates an approachable and friendly image. Your social circle reflects your ability to interact with people and your personality earns you the respect of your peers. It is important for an individual to be polite with others, you cannot inspire respect by being rude to people around you. Your social skill also reflects in your interviews, as the interviewer will keep a close watch on how you carry yourself around other people and how you converse with them ( This is mostly observed in the group discussion round of the interview process).
Increases self-confidence
A good personality not only inspires confidence in others of your abilities and achievements, but it also gives a boost to your self-confidence. Knowing that you are well groomed and well prepared for any social or professional situation helps you stand firm and clear about who you are. A lot of people struggle with low self-esteem and self-worth, a practice on developing your personality definitely helps with your self-worth, as you see people around you inspired by and at awe of your personality.
Improves communication skills
Great command over a language is not the only thing needed to be a convincing orator. Take for example all the great leaders of the world and notice how their presence inspires the audience. The more you work on your personality the better you get with your communication skills. Possessing a good personality adds that confidence in your speech and your body language. It’s easy to persuade and convince people with your words when it is supported with a strong personality.
Brings positivity and optimism
Being a confident and strong personality brings positivity in your life. A good personality helps you look at life in a more optimistic light. You become more open and kind towards the people around you and are able to face challenges with a much calmer and clear head. A boost in confidence also helps improve your approach to every problem. It doesn’t just help you improve your personal relationship but you also bring a more positive aura to your workspace which helps you stay focused and be more productive.
Reduces conflicts and stress level
The positivity that a good personality brings also helps you resolve conflicts more easily. It encourages you to look at the greener side of the grass and find the best possible outcomes even in the worst of situations. A good personality helps you create a healthy and long-lasting relationship both in your workplace and your personal life.
It also reduces your stress level, when you look at life from a positive lens it brings a lot of perspective and creates a strong coping method for stress, anxiety and other such issues. With a good personality, you can build a healthy and peaceful state of mind.
With all the advantages of having a appealing and strong personality, let’s look at some ways in which you can develop and nurture your personality.
HOW TO DEVELOP A GOOD PERSONALITY – A FEW WAYS AND STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
Personality development is not something that happens overnight, it’s a gradual process spread out over a period of time and consistency. There are ways, behavior and habits that you can adopt and practice to keep this process going. Let’s look at some simple practices to build up a strong personality.
Gain command over your field. Learn new things.
When talking about a workplace or college or even life in general, a lot of confidence comes from your grasp of a particular field or the knowledge you possess. Knowledge of your field especially helps you in your workspace and job interview, it induces confidence in your abilities and hence helps you appear more confident in your work.
Being open to new experiences and learning new things always helps in improving someone’s personality. The more you see and experience of the world the more empathetic you become, empathy improves your understanding and your relationship with your social circle. Learning new things also expands your outlook of the world and does a lot to bring a positive change in your perspective.
Think positive, be positive, adopt a positive approach to life.
Being positive and in command of your emotions helps you keep your inner conflicts separate from how you interact with the outside world. Keep in mind that every challenge you are facing is not permanent and that you are capable of getting out of it. Using positive words and adopting a more confident body language will help you bring about changes that you might not even realize.
Be patient
Patience is a very important quality, personality development happens slow and it requires patience. It doesn’t just help you deal with your flaws but also be more welcoming about others. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. Give yourself the time you need, every individual grows at their own pace.
Dress the part
Not to say that appearance is everything, but appearance matters for a good personality. A well-groomed and well-dressed person is likely to have more impact and admiration than someone not dressed the part. Pay close attention to how you should appear in different situations, wear clothes that are suitable to the place and occasion. At the same time do not go to extremes, if you are not comfortable in your clothes it will only portray a clumsy and restless personality. Choose clothes that you are comfortable in and make a style statement of your own, avoid copying others, wear what suits you the best.
Health is wealth
A healthy body and mind is always a good thing. Being healthy keeps you at your best and always adds to your charm. A healthy body improves self-confidence and inspires people. It also leads to a healthy mind, keeping you positive and active in your day to day life.
Cultivate positive traits and try to let go of negativity
Avoid criticizing people, be more open, everyone comes with a different personality. Try to not judge people on first impressions. Be sympathetic and good to people. Leave your ego behind, be more humble and down to earth.
Conclusion
A change in your personality is not an impossible task, all you have to do is know your weaknesses and keep them in a box, target those weaknesses and strive to work towards the areas where you are strong and you can easily build up your personality from there. What you have to keep in mind is the fact that it’s not the things that are holding you back that matter but what pushes you to do better and become who you are.
