What Is Personality Development? 5 Steps to Grow

Personality development is necessary to grow. But, we must say that all your likes, dislikes, or temperaments show your uniqueness. These are what make you special and unique. However, in some cases, you may feel stuck. In those moments you need to start the steps for personal development.

From time to time, you may come across facets of our characters that you are not very satisfied with. In those moments, you may lose your motivation toward life. It negatively affects your work and relationships.  After a while, you can start to miss your deadlines and no longer have your network.

So, before looking into the activities for personality development, let's learn what personality is.

What Does Personality Mean?

When you meet someone, their appearance is the first thing that you notice. But, when start to have a conversation with them you are getting to know about their personality. The words that they choose, the way they express themselves, and how they use their gestures all tell us about their personality.

Everyone has a unique personality. It is mostly the combination of their nature, nurture, experiences, and environment. All the factors come together and influence your personality. They also determine what your weaknesses and strengths are.

Is Changing a Personality Possible?

In the past, psychologists used to believe that your personality is developed during childhood and it is not possible to change much over time. According to Sigmund Freud, you create your superego (moral standards) by 5 years old. Then it is not probable to develop it.

However, modern studies have discovered that your personality is flexible and it can change when make the necessary movements. There can be a dramatic life event or you can approach it disciplined, but it evolves as you age. And this is very good news especially if there is a characteristic feature that you wish to resolve or develop.

Now, let's look into the 7 steps for personality development.

5 Steps For Personality Development

In this process, you may mainly focus on one character trait, develop a specific skill, or gain new skills. No matter which one you have chosen you must be sure to stick to applying its practices. We must also remind you that you must take small steps to not feel overwhelmed in a short time. In a long process, these small steps will make a huge difference.

1. Work on your communication skills

Communication matters in personal and professional life. To fully express yourself you need to work on it. Some soft skills that you can focus on are active listening, effective body language, and expressing yourself in the best way.

Contrary, bad communication results in unsuccess. Especially in workplaces, you can see many disadvantages of having bad communication skills. The most common results of bad communication at work are; missed deadlines, unproductive projects, bad relationships with teammates, and many more.

2. Step out of your comfort zone

One of the best things you can do for your personal development is to step out of your comfort zone. You may feel comfortable in your comfort zone, but trying new things brings many opportunities to you. Some examples for you to step out of your comfort zone are the following. You can start by choosing one.

• Be a volunteer for a project.

• Say "hi" to someone that you do not know very much.

• Be interactive in your presentation.

• Start to learn a new foreign language.

3. Get curious

Curiosity is one of the basics for personality development. Unfortunately, many people stop being curious after a certain age. But, you can choose to not be one of them and enjoy your days.

If there is something you want to learn, do research, ask people, and do not leave it until you fully understand. After a while, you will observe that it contributes to your professional life as well, to a great extent.

4. Prioritize your well being

Many people do not give priority to their well being when they start to work and have a strict schedule. However, if you do not give importance to your well being you cn feel burnout after a very short time. It naturally affects badly your personal and professional success and relationships

5. Get feedback

Feedback is what shows your streghtens and weaknesses. If you are not open to receive feedback, you can never know your streghents and weaknesses. But, if you are working on personality development, you must check in and ask your colleagues for feedback. You can do it after a presentation, or managing a meeting.