Personality Development

By Mrs. McCannPrinciples of Human Services

Your Personality

• Personality is the combination of characteristics that makes you different from every other person

• personality cannot be summed with one word- like shy or aggressive

3 Components of personality

• emotional traits• social traits• intellectual traits

What affects your personality?

• These 3 components are affected by two things: heredity and environment.

Changing Personality

• Just as you are growing physically now, you can grow or shape your personality as well.

• You can build the personality you want to have.

Changing Personality

• How you define yourself is your “Self Concept” or “Identity.”

• Self-concept is the system of beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about his or her personal existence.

Self Concept

Is composed of:• Our value as a person• Our purpose in life• Our place in the world• Our strengths and weaknesses• How we relate to others• Our independence and ability to stand on our

own feet.

High

• People with high levels of self-concept tend to be more confident, motivated and sure of themselves. They are less fearful of failure and are able to overcome setbacks.

Low

• People with low levels of self-concept may feel unhappy, insecure, lack confidence and struggle with depression. They are more fearful of failure and tend to stumble at most challenges.

Confusion?• When you know who you are and what you

are, you know how to act. Without a clear idea of whom and what you are, then a basis for your actions is missing. You might find yourself in situations where you are confused about what to do. Many of the successes and failures that people experience in life are closely related to the way people learn to view themselves and their relationships to others.

Developing a Positive Self Concept

• Is one of the objectives of adolescence • You must focus on your strengths rather than

your weaknesses helps you to develop the proper perspective.

strengths

not

weaknesses

Steps to developing a positive self concept

• Create an honest list of things to do to develop a more positive view of yourself

• Learn to accept praise and compliments• Focus on your strengths and talents• Accept yourself as you are

• Learn from what you do (mistakes are opportunities to see how you can do things differently in the future.)

• Use your strength to help others• Take responsibility for your own life

Your Potential

• Everyone has potential• It is the capability to become something more

than you are right now. • We each have strengths that can be developed

further.

• Everyone’s personal challenge is to identify these strengths and to use them.

• You can and probably will get sidetracked along the way, but how close you come to reaching your potential is up to you.

• When you work toward your potential, you aim forpersonal development!

Your Assignment• List an area you wish to make a personality

adjustment in.• Create a list of at least 4 steps you could follow to

achieve the change you identified.• List 4 skills that you possess. • Next to each skill briefly identify a way that you

could improve the skill to help fulfill your potential.• Explain how the confidence of someone with high

self-esteem be misinterpreted?• Describe how a person can overcome problems

caused by their environment.