Your personality is what makes you a unique human being. It encompasses your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and while you may like all aspects of your character, you may notice that others don’t always have a positive reaction to specific traits. Or perhaps you recognize some bad habits you have developed over the years and are wishing to make a change.
“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” — Bruce Lee
If you are looking for ways to enhance your personality, to build new character traits that mean others are more comfortable with you, then we’ve got you covered. Here are five ways to develop your personality.
#1. Discover Everything You Can About Yourself
Spend some time really evaluating who you are, what you like, how you behave, and how others react to you. Take time to notice how people respond to things you do and say, see what others appreciate most about you, and purposefully observe how you interact with others in different types of situations. Make a list of your personality traits that you think are strengths and identify a few key areas where you would like to improve.
“What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill
#2. Expand Your Interests
The more you read and experience in life, the more interesting you will be. Reading, travel, and hobbies all expand your understanding of the world, teach you new perspectives, and enhance your empathy for others, also. This can make you a better friend and provides you with topics for your interactions with others. Listen to a new podcast, pick up a new-to-you genre of book, or learn a hobby you’ve always wanted to try.
#3. Focus on The Needs of Others
By learning to be supportive of others, you enhance your personality and welcome more people into your life. When you maintain interest in others’ passions, you show you are actively interested in their lives and care about what matters to them. Most people love to feel that others are interested in what they have to say, and they, in return, will reciprocate with interest in your life, as well.
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw
#4. Focus on Your Conversational Abilities
Improving your ability to communicate with others will enhance your relationships. Learn to listen as well as talk and ask questions to engage other people in conversation. Practice active listening techniques as well as share your knowledge and interests with those around you. Becoming a good conversationalist will help in your personal as well as professional life.
#5. Take a Stance
Having a viewpoint shows your interests and passions. Most people find others with no opinions to be boring. Know where you stand on issues important to your beliefs and be sure you have information to support your perspectives. But, you should also be willing to listen to others’ views and use those to evaluate your own stance. Make an effort to talk with people whose views are different than yours to understand their perspective better.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Final Thoughts
We each have the power to shape our personalities and enhance specific traits. By learning to evaluate what you like best about yourself, then selecting new characteristics you wish to develop, you have created a plan for your personal development.
Once you start implementing these new changes, practice again observing how you are making progress, how others respond to your attempts, and identify where you need to make adjustments. It’s always helpful to talk with others whom you really trust to see how they think you can improve your personality.
They may have identified specific traits you were not even aware others noticed about you. When you take the time to commit to this process, you will put yourself on a course toward personal development and improved happiness.
