Self-knowledge: how to understand and use your character traits

Strong character traits are associated with personal and social well-being. Knowing the characteristics of your character, thinking and behavior, you can identify the most outstanding of them and use them best in your profession, training and relationships [Character Strengths: Research and Practice]. A feeling of uncertainty, a thirst for self-realization, a lack of internal harmony are signals that push towards self-knowledge. Through understanding ourselves, we can achieve satisfaction of our needs.

People who know their character and abilities are more effective in life than those who know little about themselves. A large-scale study conducted by consulting firm Korn Ferry between 2010 and 2013 found a correlation between the level of self-awareness of professionals and the financial performance of the companies for which they worked. The highest results were shown by employees who were well aware of their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, professionals with low self-awareness scores were 79% more likely to have low self-esteem and be less productive. It turns out that self-knowledge helps not only to be effective, but also helps to solve problems with low self-esteem and excessive anxiety.

Self-knowledge helps to remove the burden of doubt and decide on a profession, find your true interests, become calmer and make relationships with people pleasant and joyful. However, this will take more than one day, and in order to properly understand your characteristics (features of thinking, values, motives of behavior, needs and predispositions to certain types of activities), you may need help. (For this, by the way, our self-knowledge program was developed, which helps you choose a business you like, regain interest in life, improve relationships and find harmony.)

Small victories add up to big ones, so you can start working on your character right now. But it’s harder to do than to say, so we wrote this article, wanting to help you get to know yourself better and look into your inner world. After all, if you want to become more successful, more effective, find your life’s work and simply be a prosperous person, self-knowledge is simply necessary for you.

Self-knowledge and its role in our lives

Self-knowledge is a constant process that begins from the moment a person is born and continues throughout life. Knowledge that reflects the essence of a person forms his value for society [Dictionary of a practical psychologist]. Simply put, the better a person understands his uniqueness (character, abilities, thinking, motivation, etc.), the more satisfaction he receives from life.

Self-knowledge offers a path to realizing your own desires and aspirations. Knowing ourselves, discovering step by step the depth of our personality, we begin to move towards self-realization. And this helps to find a place in the vast outside world. There's room for everyone. Otherwise, why were each of us born?!

When knowledge about ourselves is not enough, we can:

Feel insecure, anxious and easily unsettled. If we do not know ourselves, we are always in danger. After all, the lack of a clear set of values puts us in an uncertain position and forces us to waste more energy and even nerves. Additionally, we will be easily confused by events that seem negative and worry about insignificant things. Knowing what is important to us, what we are willing to put up with and what we are not, will make our life more comfortable and calmer.
Create unreasonably tense and difficult relationships. We cannot establish relationships with other people if we do not establish relationships with ourselves. Understanding your motives and behavior patterns in certain situations (after all, you are probably familiar with repeating situations when you seem to step on the same rake) will help interrupt their cyclical nature. Cyclicity occurs precisely because of a lack of information about oneself. We tend to project our own traits onto other people, and if we do not accept our shadow sides, this causes us to react negatively and, as a result, have a negative attitude towards the other person.
Choosing a job that is not suitable for us and pursuing false goals. When it comes time to choose a profession or at least a direction of activity, most likely, most of us are guided by the thoughts of other people. For example, a specialty is chosen according to the instructions of parents or at random, just to get a diploma. When we focus on the needs and desires of others, we are more likely to miss our own. Of course, you should listen to advice, but you need to be guided only by your own well-founded beliefs and desires. And in order to be guided by them, they need to be defined.
Spending your time and money on things that don't bring you happiness. Without self-knowledge, we will make poor choices. Again and again. Spending time with the wrong people, buying the wrong things, doing things that don’t bring us joy. We may even sincerely try to communicate more and better, but the feeling of dissatisfaction will still leave a mark. We can buy more expensive things, but the hole from the inexplicable shortage will remain. And this will continue until we understand what we really need and what needs remain unmet. By knowing ourselves, we will stop wasting time on people who make us feel inferior or with whom we are simply not interested, and we will stop doing useless things, such as buying unnecessary clothes at sales.

Self-knowledge helps change ineffective behavior habits into effective and useful ones. With the help of self-knowledge we have the opportunity to:

make positive changes in life;
create and maintain relationships;
be less frustrated at work;
succumb less to general panic and other people’s emotional reactions;
be more empathetic and show compassion towards others.

An insufficient level of self-knowledge significantly reduces the quality of life and makes it more difficult [BASICS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT]. When you can’t find a place for yourself, when you realize that you’re not doing what you need and what you’re predisposed to, it twists you on a physical level, not only on a psychological one. Scientists have long established a connection between emotional pain and physical sensations.

In other words, when we experience emotional pain, the same neurons are activated as when we experience physical pain. And emotional pain is very real. Dissatisfaction with oneself, one's activities and one's whole life leads to a drop in self-esteem, self-criticism and passive behavior. Negative emotions accumulate and can cause very serious illnesses. Over time, unexpressed emotions are transformed into diseases and ailments of our body.

If we understand at least the features of our character, many other things will also become more understandable and even obvious. So let's talk about character in more detail.

Primary traits

A characteristic that is always characteristic of a person is called a primary character trait. Such a trait does not have to manifest itself in any case, however, it is there, and it is well expressed. For example, a sociable person may not show his sociability in some cases, this does not negate his ability to find a common language with people and become the center of attention. Why is it important? An employee who has such a primary trait as conscientiousness at work may be slack and negligent, but an employee who cannot boast of such a trait will be more likely to slack. Therefore, when you predict a person's long-term behavior, primary traits are the basis of the prediction. If they are not revealed, then there are obstacles that can be found and eliminated.

goodwill – conflict;
diligence - a tendency to idleness;
initiative - inertia;
communication skills - isolation.

Character and its radical types

Character can be called the content of our actions, combining a number of characteristics that are manifested in the performance of everyday tasks, reactions to difficulties and the manner of communicating with other people. These qualities create our personality.

Character does not change quickly; its traits are stable and require time to change. Identifying personality traits can help you make decisions and identify personal goals and dispositions. In addition, having learned your characteristic features, you will understand the reasons for emotional reactions to various events and the motives for certain actions [RELATIONSHIP OF MECHANISMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFENSE AND COping].

Think of a character from a book or movie that you like. How does this person act in stressful situations? How does he behave when others are in trouble? Describe him and his behavior in a few words.

The terms you used to describe your character's behavior patterns, such as "brave", "caring" and "honest", are character traits and can be grouped as follows:

Attitude towards other people (approval/condemnation, openness/closedness, politeness/rudeness, etc.)
Attitude towards oneself (level of self-awareness, self-esteem, demandingness, etc.)
Attitude to activity (hard work, perseverance, discipline, etc.)
Attitude to things (neatness/sloppiness, thriftiness, etc.)

Each person's character traits are based on their personality, morals, ethics and beliefs. Character is also influenced by environment, profession and, of course, upbringing [FORMATION OF EMOTIONAL STABILITY OF PERSONALITY].

Let us list some personality traits that are part of a person’s character and at the same time can transmit values:

self-discipline;
ambition;
sensitivity (empathy);
honesty;
courage (decisiveness);
flexibility;
susceptibility;
modesty;
loyalty;
patience;
persistence;
optimism.

In addition, character includes traits associated with temperament: extroversion/introversion, calmness/anxiety, restraint/impulsiveness, etc. Character is the content, and temperament is the style and manner. Together we get a unique bouquet of characteristics. The peculiar combination of all these traits in one person allows us to classify him as a certain type, and below we will consider radical types of character (and you can read more about character in general in our article “Character”).

Radical character types are when character traits are clearly expressed and the same behavior patterns are used in different circumstances. For example, people wear the same clothes to different events, purchase goods/services only from the lowest/highest price categories, maintain an ideal system for storing things (clothes, cutlery, dishes, etc.), and always ask for opinions before making a decision. as many people as possible, etc.

Typically, 3 radicals dominate a personality, and the rest appear to a lesser extent or are subtle. The 7 radicals listed below are found in every personality, only they can manifest themselves in different circumstances and in different volumes (note also that this categorization belongs to Viktor Ponomarenko, a psychiatrist and psychologist, the author of dozens of books on psychology with many years of experience; it is one one of the most popular and in demand in Russian psychological practice):

Hysterical (demonstrative)

The need for approval from others and the desire to please people. They can exaggerate or even make up stories, and they themselves will sincerely believe in them. Masters of self-presentation. They love jewelry and accessories and love to stand out from the crowd. If they smile, it is wide; if they are upset, the corners of the mouth drop to the limit; if they laugh, it is with an open mouth and loudly. Their gestures are sweeping.

Paranoid (purposeful)

They only listen to themselves. Obsessed with your idea. Due to the reluctance to accept the opinions of others, they complicate relationships and avoid finding solutions to problems. They have goals and move towards them no matter what. For the sake of an idea and to achieve a goal, they are ready to sacrifice a lot and even lie. They place high demands on themselves and others and always evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the people around them. Neat. They prefer classic clothes, but in their free time they prefer military style. Gestures are sharp, pointing. They are consistent in their speech and can use harsh expressions.

Schizoid (strange)

Special thinking, its own world and its own laws. A non-standard vision of everyday things and events. Introverts. Behavior is difficult to predict. Outwardly, they often appear fragile, thoughtful, and can suddenly jump from topic to topic. Intellectually developed, speech is filled with complex words. Results-oriented. Tend to search for new and original solutions.

Emotive (sensitive)

They gravitate toward beauty and seek harmony. They understand other people well (emotions, motives of actions, mood), are compassionate and kind. Good listeners. They prefer peaceful resolution of conflicts. Gestures are smooth and measured. Honest. They talk little, listen more, speech is quiet.

Epileptoid

There are two types:

The stuck type is slow and difficult to switch from one task to another. At the same time, he is consistent, systematic and disciplined. Before making a decision, he weighs all the pros and cons. Reasonable. Loves order. Frequently takes notes and plans. Outwardly he may seem aggressive, but he is not. He chooses his friends carefully and is a reliable friend. The expression “ready to give my shirt off my back” is exactly about him. The main value is family. Poorly emotional. Gestures are precise. Speech is measured, sometimes sluggish.
Excitable type - aggressive, always ready for action. Tough and even cruel people. They strive to control others. They are often fond of sports and love competition. They prefer hierarchy and order, are sometimes arrogant with others, like to give instructions and clear tasks. Impulsive and difficult to predict in behavior. Focused exclusively on their goals. They prefer sporty clothing. Facial expressions are constrained, gestures are heavy with pronounced muscle involvement. Speech is measured, sometimes sluggish, harsh.

Hyperthymic (cheerful)

Optimism and energy - this is how you can describe this radical in a nutshell. In difficult situations they find advantages, positively accept everything new, and do not skimp on emotions. They love to communicate. They joke often. Can do several things at the same time. They are receptive to information and easily switch from one task to another. Facial expressions are natural, positive emotions predominate. Quick gestures. They often lose the thread of a conversation because they get carried away.

Anxious (fearful)

“Measure a hundred times, cut once” refers precisely to this radical. He will double-check the decision many times before he implements it. Conservative, does not like change, can even resist it. Often has difficulty making decisions due to uncertainty about the correct choice, worries and has his own calming rituals. For example, knock on wood 3 times, tense your toes 5 times, pat yourself on the shoulder, etc.

Appearances can be deceiving and do not always correspond to typical descriptions. A combination of character traits can be organized into a unique type, which is not in the above list. These are just pronounced traits and possible behavior patterns. A person usually combines 3 types of radicals, and somewhere they can manifest themselves to a lesser extent, and somewhere to a greater extent [Practical characterology with elements of forecasting and behavior management].

Example and writing sample: how to create a psychological portrait of a personality

Historical publications, brochures, textbooks, and fiction are filled with a lot of information about the lives of famous people. Of course, their psychoportraits deserve special attention. Everyone wants to know the subtleties of nature and character inclinations of Hitler, Pushkin, Stalin, Joan of Arc and other outstanding people. Characteristics reveal the reasons for their behavior, lifestyle, and the formation of motivation. The analysis was carried out on the basis of personal diaries, written eyewitness accounts, and decrypted archives. Sometimes preserved photos and video fragments are used to detail the data. As an example of how to write a psychological portrait of a personality, I will describe the person of Napoleon Bonaparte:

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This is a short man. He suffered from epilepsy.
According to the plan, personal information about the subject was compiled: the Emperor of France, an active statesman. Married twice.
There is a love of literature and military affairs. Uncommunicative, suffered excessively from bullying by peers.
An active and efficient person, purposeful, punctual, disciplined, but moderately selfish. An excellent strategist who perceives and processes new information with lightning speed and also quickly makes decisions. An antisocial person who is disgusted with others. He kept himself in control, even in the presence of internal turmoil and troubles.
The main motivation is the thirst for power.
High position in society, position and social status significantly aggravated the problems that arose in childhood and gave rise to anger and contempt for people.

This is a good example from the psychology of competently drawing up a psychological portrait of a non-standard personality. Having analyzed the commander’s youth and living conditions, his aggression, irritability and rejection of society in the future become clear.

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How to determine your character

If we proceed from the model of 7 radicals, then we should take into account:

appearance (clothing style, accessories and jewelry);
design of space (work, housing, car);
non-verbal signals (gestures, facial expressions, postures, gaze).

Using these characteristics, you can create a psychological profile of another person or your own. By choosing your inherent radicals and arranging them according to the degree of manifestation, you will get a system of your character, where each radical and feature are interconnected with each other.

Here are 4 more tips that will help you see your strengths:

Remember what comes easy for you

Look into the past: friends, colleagues or teachers probably told you that you did it easily, as if without much effort. Perhaps you organized something, or you found mathematics easy, or maybe you thought through routes? Or are you able to encourage other people? Remember 5 things you probably have had since childhood.

Request Feedback

Reach out to those you trust and ask them to identify your strengths. The outside view often differs from our vision. It may be convenient to do this in correspondence. Try to interview 3-5 of your old and new friends.

Imagine a possible scenario

Let's say you have a group project that needs to be completed by the end of the week. And the result depends only on the high-quality implementation of this activity, plus, this is an excellent opportunity to show what you are capable of. Imagine you have three people on your team who have joined you to complete a project. Now ask yourself which role you feel most comfortable taking on in a group:

Are you becoming an organizer, leader, creative, moderator or something else?
Is there a part of the project that you would like to take on?
Do you enjoy the overall planning phase or do you prefer to jump right in and do the actual work of the project?
Do you take the lead in sharing responsibilities or do you prefer to be given a role in the group?
Do you intervene if someone else begins to take over your functions?

By answering these questions, you will learn a lot about yourself: how you work in a team and what strengths you use.

Write down what you do best

Perhaps you know how to find valuable information from large volumes, or maybe you are proficient in programming languages (Python, Java, PHP, etc.)? Or perhaps you are strong in Excel? What do you like to do? How would you spend your time if you didn't have to go to work every day? Look first at what you already do in your free time. Do you enjoy helping your friends get through difficult times at work or in their personal lives? By looking at the things you truly love to do, while identifying which abilities you use the most, you can pinpoint your strengths even more accurately.

We also remind you once again about our self-discovery program, with which you can create a complete map of your inner world, identify goals and expand your capabilities. But even now you already know where to start self-knowledge. So you can safely get down to business. And if you already know about some special nuances of your personality, try to apply recommendations in life that will help you use the features of your character.

describe yourself

Before you begin to describe your own character, you need to remember that the main thing in this matter is objectivity. You must be completely honest with yourself, not hide personal shortcomings and forget about stupid incidents in your life. Knowing yourself completely, you can create a true description of your own character; it is quite simple and accessible to everyone. Before starting the description, it is recommended to take a pen and paper. This way you can write down everything that comes to mind without losing the main idea or missing other details.

How to use your personality traits

There are no useless characters and abilities. Sometimes they are used for other purposes or are not used due to ignorance. To unlock your personal potential, know your individuality, go deeper into yourself. Your characteristics are the basis of your personal growth.

What radicals of character are capable of:

Schizoids can become generators of extraordinary ideas and non-standard solutions. If it weren't for them, the world would be monotonous. Creative thinking can be used not only in the artistic field, but also to develop new projects and even to maintain and strengthen relationships.
Hysteroids are excellent PR people. They can convey and spread an idea to a large number of people. They know how to tell captivating stories, attract other people and hold their interest.
Paranoids can simplify complex things and ideas, charge them with their energy and ignite groups of people to realize their plans. They know how to motivate and direct in the right direction.
Epileptoids have the gift of systemic organization. They are self-disciplined and enjoy organizing other people. To achieve the goal, they are ready to do anything (or almost anything). For them, the main thing is consistency and technique, which they are ready to share and teach others to implement their plans.
Emotives will perfectly support you in difficult times, understand you, bestow you with boundless love and provide comfort. Altruists. They resolve conflicts peacefully, see the needs of others and sincerely want to help when necessary.
Anxious ones help to refrain from impulsive actions, to calculate all possible options in order to minimize the risks of losses. Thoughtful decisions down to the smallest detail and many alternative options can be an effective strategy for implementing plans.
Hyperthyms are courageous and are able to focus only on important and necessary information. They boldly start a new business and are able to lift the spirits of other people. If not for them, the world would be mired in gloom.

When you know your character, you can work on developing it further and look for better ways to use it. If you are worried that your thinking is strange, illogical, and not like everyone else, this is your peculiarity, which needs to find a comfortable and favorable place for expression.

Develop your abilities and be sure to use them! Strengths can be made even stronger, and weaknesses can be brought closer to strengths. Knowing your own inner world will help you in everything: from your profession and achieving your goals to creating and developing strong relationships.

Examples of benefits for jobs that involve working with people

If you are looking for a position as a sales manager, teacher or PR specialist, then it is better to include the following personal qualities in your strengths: Communication skills, communication skills, public speaking skills, persuasive skills, self-confidence, presentable appearance, desire for self-improvement, stress resistance, ability to seek compromises and make decisions in non-standard situations, energy, sense of humor, punctuality, result orientation, resourcefulness, conscientiousness, responsibility, competent speech.

But you don’t need to list this entire list; choose the 5 that are most suitable for you. This characteristic will be able to show you from the best side. But keep in mind that if you have problems with constructing sentences or you start to stutter when you are nervous, then the specified point “oratory skills” will look like an ordinary lie.

Arriving on time for the interview will prove your punctuality, where you can demonstrate your sense of humor, if, of course, it is appropriate.

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Is the employer obliged to issue it?

Some believe that such paper is a relic of the past, but if the HR department or the organization’s management receives a written request for its presentation, the employee cannot be refused. Taking into account Art. 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, such a document from the place of work is submitted no later than three working days from the date of application. This norm applies not only to those subordinates who are currently registered in the company, but also to those with whom the employment relationship has already been terminated - a reference letter from their last place of work is issued for them (Determination of the Moscow City Court dated 09/08/2011 in case No. 33-28750).

Not only the employee himself, but also government agencies have the right to request a recommendation. Why is it needed? Here is just a small list of situations when she is asked:

when applying for a new position;
when applying for a loan;
when contacting the guardianship authorities;
for submission to an educational institution;
when being awarded a prize or state award;
for the court.

Depending on the place where the document is addressed, the emphasis and formulation of the employee’s qualities are chosen.

Examples of positive characteristics

«______» _______________ 20___

(Last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, position)

FULL NAME. work(s) in _____________________________________________________ starting with “______” _______________ 20___. During my work, I was repeatedly sent to advanced training courses, which I successfully completed, according to the following programs: ___________________________.

FULL NAME. has an extensive knowledge of his specialty and is always up to date with the latest developments in his field. Has excellent business negotiation skills.

FULL NAME. has established himself as a responsible employee, focused on excellent results, always ready to quickly make innovative decisions and bear responsibility for their adoption and for the actions of subordinates. Ready to work in any conditions, including outside working hours.

He is distinguished by his punctuality and delicacy in communicating with subordinates and colleagues, for which he is respected by the team. Demanding of himself.

Position I.O. Last name Signature

«______» _______________ 20___

This characteristic was issued by full name, date of birth: ___________________________, working in _____________________________________________.

(name of organization and its details)

c “______” _______________ 20___ to present in the position of _________________.

Has a higher education in the specialty _____________________________________.

Family status: ______________________________________________.

(indicate presence of spouse and children)

This employee is a worthy professional. He has never been subject to disciplinary action.

He is on friendly terms with his colleagues. He is friendly and restrained, in any situation he is ready for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. There are no bad habits. Has the right life priorities and guidelines. Enjoys participating in the social life of the team.

This characteristic was issued for submission to ___________________.

Position I.O. Last name Signature

What to write about

The main requirement for a document is objectivity. As a result, the general description should create an image of the person being characterized and help form the correct opinion about him.

At the same time, the content changes depending on who the recommendation is being prepared for. If an employee intends to contact the guardianship authorities for the purpose of adoption, his personal qualities should be especially noted: for example, kindness, caring, good manners. If a worker is planning to advance up the career ladder or needs to find a job in a new place, such epithets as “executive”, “initiative”, “responsible” will come in handy. For the court, the details of how honest a person is, how he treats his responsibilities, and what kind of relationships he has with colleagues are important.

But there is another, pleasant reason to prepare a letter of recommendation - the awarding of state awards of the Russian Federation. In this case, personnel specialists should be guided by the recommendations from the letter of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation No. AK-3560 dated April 4, 2012 and the decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1099 dated September 7, 2010 “On measures to improve the state award system of the Russian Federation.” The letter contains methodological recommendations regarding the preparation of award documents. It, in particular, says that the information should help evaluate the contribution of the awardee; it is important to mention the qualifications, personal qualities, high merits of the employee, and an assessment of the effectiveness of his activities. It is prohibited to directly list job functions, track record or describe the life path of a specialist. An example of a description of an employee from the place of work available for downloading is in the appendices to the article.

Varieties

External are those documents that are submitted to other organizations or government bodies. When compiling them, it is necessary to clarify with the employee the purpose of the request - the style of writing and the form of presentation depend on this.

Internal characteristics are used, for example, when an employee is transferred to another department or division, for promotion within the organization where he works. Such a document necessarily places emphasis on the employee’s business qualities and work skills.

In some cases, a personnel specialist asks the immediate superior of the person being characterized to prepare a document, telling him in general terms how to write a reference for an employee, and providing him with a sample. This is acceptable and even correct, especially if a new person works in the HR department who does not know his colleagues well, or the team is so large that it is difficult for the HR officer to evaluate the qualities of a particular person.

Please note that the employer is not required to agree on the text with the employee. But if he does not agree with the content, then he has the right to challenge the document in court.

Assessment methods.

To evaluate a person, the following methods will help:

Observation in the natural environment . For example, when a girl wants to get to know a guy better, she should spend his usual day with him - meet friends, do what he likes. This will allow her to immerse herself in his life, to see it from the inside.
Setting problems and finding solutions . Another type of observation that is suitable for assessing employees or applicants. A classic interview does not always make it possible to identify the necessary character traits. To better assess a potential employee, you can verbally model a situation for him and ask him to live it - to find a way out of some situation, to make a difficult decision.
Pros and cons analysis . This method of assessment is very primitive and cannot give an objective assessment, however, it is used very often. A sheet is taken, drawn in half, the positive traits of the person are written on one side, and the negative ones on the other. To make the analysis more accurate, you can describe not only the personality traits themselves, but also his actions.