Have you ever thought of that fact that what is the thing that allows your to interact with the world, and even yourself? Yes, that thing if your personality. So what is personality? It is simply an image that we project to the outside world that is why having the right personality becomes very important. However, the fact is, we talk about developing the personality, but have you ever wondered that this approach often keeps us stuck to the past? Or at its best, makes us a refined version of the past? Yes it does.
So this article is not only dedicated to understanding what is personality development (We have also covered personality development in depth in a separate article. Learn more about it here and if you want simple practical steps, you can also check our article on personality development tips.), or what is personality development in simple words, but what is personality development in psychology and as per yoga, and its importance. This article will show you that how our personality keeps us bound to the past, and why we must disconnect from our existing persona to expect real development. Here is a complete outlook of being in your psychology, and moving towards yoga.
What Is Personality Development in Simple Words
To know what is personality development in simple words, we must first slow down and try to see what is personality in the simplest way possible, because without this understanding the entire idea becomes confusing. If we have to put things in simple words, we can say that personality is what we feel about ourselves through our attitude, habits, thoughts patterns and so on. For example, a person who is mostly negative is said to have a negative and self-defeating personality, on the other hand, a positive person is said to have a strong and positive persona.
If we look a little deeper, these attitudes and habits are nothing but information, and this information largely comes from our genes and DNA, which quietly shape our emotional patterns and behaviour responses without us being aware of it. When seen in simple words, your personality is like a software that keeps running inside you and controls how you think and respond, and personality development simply means updating this software so that it suits your current needs instead of trapping you in old patterns.
However, we do not study or acknowledge that our information-bound personality keeps us stuck to the past. This is because, information is always past bound, and if we expect any forward movement, we must first disconnect from these information patterns. Hoping to work with the existing personality is like looking at the real view mirror and expecting to move forward. To understand this concept further, we must understand the psychological and yogic perspective on personality.
What Is Personality Development in Psychology
When we ask that what is personality development in psychology, we must know that psychology is the field that studies personality, thoughts, emotions and so on in a detailed way. However, almost all of us do now know that actually our entire construct of personality is a thought based identity.
That is why we cannot know who we are, or tell who we are without thinking. That is why, in psychology, personality development means changing the thought process because by changing one’s thoughts, they can change their feelings, beliefs and so on.
When explained clearly, what is personality development in psychology comes down to updating the inner software by altering thought patterns using various psychological tools, therapies, or techniques that help people develop healthier mental habits. In short, it is about infusing new information into our system, and attempt to rewrite the software. However, we overlook one fact: our strong identity with our personality. Because of our strong attachment to our familiar self, change becomes tough, and even impossible because our software keeps taking us back to our old self.
This is where many people feel stuck, because not everyone benefits equally from traditional psychological personality development. So what is the solution? To answer that, we need to explore how yoga views personality and why its approach is so different. If someone wishes to learn this in a structured way, they can explore our personality development course, which is designed using both psychological and yogic principles.
What Is Personality Development as Per Yoga
Now, let us move to what is personality development as per yoga, because yoga looks at self development from a completely different lens. Yoga says that to truly reach your peak potential, you should not merely develop your personality, but transcend it. This is because yoga understands how our past actions and impressions form our current personality, and when something is formed from the past, it can easily become a trap that keeps repeating itself through us.
In yogic teachings, identifying with your personality is seen as a process that limits you to a small physical identity, whereas yoga encourages individuals to experience the vastness of their inner self that exists beyond thoughts and inherited tendencies. According to personality development as per yoga, the real problem begins when we remain stuck to our persona, because that keeps us tied to our constant stream of thoughts, which then triggers over thinking and disconnects us from the oneness of existence. We become a victim of the past leaving no room for any forward movement.
In its true sense, yoga means union, union of the individual with the supreme. However, to make that union happen, we must transcend the boundaries of our personality and experience our boundless non-physical nature. According to yogic sciences, our true self is a non-physical being, hence it is boundless. Furthermore, this being is a space of nothingness, or, it is unsullied by information. This art allows people to remain in meditative space of “no person,” with a fiery awareness. Or in other words, one becomes pure awareness, without being limited to the personality.
What Is Personality Development and Its Importance
Now let us look at what is personality development and its importance, because once we understand the psychological view and the yogic view, we can bring both together and see their combined value. Personality development simply means self enhancement, but psychology and yoga offer two very different routes.
Psychological tools have the following importance:
- They improve self image by reshaping thought patterns.
- They help maintain a positive mindset that affects daily behaviour.
- They make a person more effective in handling life situations.
- They increase confidence levels through cognitive restructuring.
- They create a healthier belief system that supports growth.
Yogic tools have the following importance:
- They allow seekers to experience their real self beyond their information bound persona.
- They give freedom from the unconscious control of genes and DNA.
- They help individuals experience a state of awareness that exists beyond thoughts.
- They empower you to create any persona at will and let go of it when needed.
- They take a seeker from a limited identity to an experience of inner infinitude.
When we combine both views, we understand what is personality development and its importance not only for improving our external behaviour but also for connecting with the deeper awareness that exists beyond our personality.
Conclusion
To conclude everything in a simple way, what is personality development becomes clear when we look at what is personality development in simple words, what is personality development in psychology, what is personality development as per yoga, and what is personality development and its importance, because each viewpoint adds a new layer of understanding. When we integrate psychological tools that shape our thoughts with yogic tools that free us from identity, personality development becomes a journey of conscious inner growth rather than a mere polishing of old patterns.
Explore our personality development course to understand how psychology and yoga together can help you reshape your inner patterns.
FAQs
Human personality is a collection of information patterns that control how we think, feel and act. These patterns of information largely come from our genes and DNA which acts like a software within us. So, human personality development is an upgrading of this software through several methods. That is how psychology views it, but yoga says that we need to dis-identify from our personality and experience our true self within. When we do that, we naturally operate at our highest level.
The following are some points that show importance of personality development from psychology point of view:
- They improve self image by reshaping thought patterns.
- They help maintain a positive mindset that affects daily behaviour.
- They make a person more effective in handling life situations.
- They increase confidence levels through cognitive restructuring.
- They create a healthier belief system that supports growth.
Yogic tools have the following importance:
- They allow seekers to experience their real self beyond their information bound persona.
- They give freedom from the unconscious control of genes and DNA.
- They help individuals experience a state of awareness that exists beyond thoughts.
- They empower you to create any persona at will and let go of it when needed.
- They take a seeker from a limited identity to an experience of inner infinitude.
In yoga, self-development is different. In yoga, the definition of our “self,” is not our persona, but the being behind it. Yoga sees personality as a mask that we wear, but is not our true self. However, we end up being identified with this mask, which keeps us stuck in a loop of thought-emotions. We become a limited being. Yoga focuses on dis-identifying from personality, and experiencing our real self within. When we discover our true self, we not only operate at our highest, but get freedom from our limited persona.
Rajat Sharma is the founder of Psyog and comes from a strong background in psychology. He works at the intersection of psychology, mental health, spirituality, and modern science, and is known for his unique approach to human wellbeing. Rajat believes that our true human experience unfolds only when we rise above our psychological limitations, and this understanding forms the core of his work.
Over the years, he has worked with elite athletes, educational institutions, and individuals dealing with emotional imbalance, helping them find clarity and inner balance. Rajat has authored three globally selling books — The Zoned Athlete, The Conscious Destiny, and Don’t Live but Die Well. He has also spoken on the TEDx stage alongside leading thinkers and regularly shares his insights through podcasts and events.