If you had the same personality now as when you were two years old, you probably won’t be able to do much. Personality development is key to becoming a well-rounded, well-liked, and happy individual. Your teenage years and your early 20s are when most of your personality development will occur. So today we’re honing in on the top personality development tips for students. So here are these 11 tips to look into.
1. Learn to self-evaluate.
Self-evaluation is taking the time to constructively criticize yourself. I said, CONSTRUCTIVELY. Tearing yourself a new one isn’t going to help you improve, but finding out what your weaknesses are and working on them will. Self-evaluation starts with you accepting the fact that you’re not perfect, and you’re willing to work on it.
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2. Develop your opinions.
Our parents and families usually mean well, but sometimes their opinions may not align with yours. As you start to get out and explore the world, especially in college, you’ll form your own perspectives as part of your personality development. Having strong feelings about certain things is great, but you must always consider the other side and the facts of the situation. A great debate was never won by someone who yells their opinion and walks away before hearing the rebuttal.
3. Learn from obstacles.
You only fail if you don’t learn anything from your obstacle. Even if you feel like you blew it, by learning what you can change next time, you walk away with a small win. This will help you face challenges down the line in adulthood with the right perspective that helps pick you up and move you forward. This is one of the greatest personality development tips you can learn for students.
4. Socialize and network.
We all love a good party when we’re a teen or young adult, but most of us don’t take advantage of other types of socializing as much. Join clubs, I’m talking about school clubs, go to conferences, and utilize all opportunities you have to network. Just by keeping in touch with someone via email every few months, you may be opening a door to a future job or opportunity. Many times, it’s not what you know but who you know.
Related: How to make new friends
5. Read often.
To develop your personality, it’s important to read. And, no, I’m not talking about reading your Twitter feed or the news blurbs on your social media. Read real books. News article too, if you have the time. If you’re not sure what to read, choose a topic – may I recommend self-development or self-help – and simply Google the top book recommendations for that topic. If over one million people have made it a best seller, it might have something good to offer you.
6. Explore new hobbies and activities.
You might say that basketball is your favorite sport, but that might be because you’ve never held a hockey stick or a tennis racket. You’d be surprised what we miss out on, simply because we never give it a shot. If someone invites you to some new hobby, activity, or event, take them up on it. If you see a flyer for a free trial, sign up. You have nothing to lose but some time and potentially everything to gain.
7. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Respect is the key to all successful interactions, including how you view yourself. Treat yourself with respect, even if you feel disappointed in something you’ve done. Treat others the same. We don’t know what it’s like to be in other peoples’ shoes and you never know when you’ll need to cross a bridge again, so don’t burn any.
Check out: How to earn respect from people
8. Pay attention to your body language.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we’re saying that we don’t pay attention to how we’re saying it. Body language accounts for more than 80% of interaction, which means your movements, tone, and expressions are more important than what is coming out of your mouth. Focus on improving your posture, maintaining eye contact, and keeping your body language open, especially through your arms.
9. Refine your thoughts.
You may not know it, but there’s a positive way to complain. Sounds weird, right? Here’s an example. Instead of saying, “I hope there’s no traffic today. I hate traffic,” you can say, “I hope the highways are clear and open today. It would be nice to get to work early.” Both statements are wishing for the same thing, but the way it’s said makes all the difference. Start out using this refining technique with your thoughts and let it spread to how you speak. This will, in turn, affect how you behave and how you respond to future situations. You’d be surprised at the positive changes that will follow.
10. Be optimistic.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day and forget how much positivity we are surrounded by. The best way to get into an optimistic mindset is to start your day with a gratitude journal or moment of gratitude. Either write down or say out loud 5-10 things you are grateful for when you wake up. You could even do this in your mind as you brush your teeth. It could be anything from your great mattress to your family to the donut you’ll eat after lunch. Gratitude is where optimism begins, so get started today!
11. Work on being an effective communicator.
FYI, most people aren’t effective communicators, and it does require you to put in the effort. Heck, I’m still working on it myself. Effective communication is hard. It means listening, even when someone is saying something that really irks or ticks you off. It means asking open-ended questions to better understand that person. When you’re asking questions that’s when you really want to understand the situation, thus making you a better communicator.
Check out: Social skills training for adults
Conclusion:
Overall, all these tips and tricks take time to learn and develop. Nothing will just happen overnight. The more people you talk to and the more exposure you get from the outside world, the better it’ll be to create your own personality. So there you have it 11 personality development tips for students.