Personal traits vs. Soft skills: can they be learned?

Hello and welcome to today's blog post. Personality traits are frequently confused with soft skills; in this post, we will discuss the differences between the two and whether they can be learned.

To begin, let's describe personality traits. Your Dictionary defines a personality trait as how a person tends to think, feel, and behave on an ongoing basis. Personality traits are characteristics of long-lasting behavioural and emotional patterns, rather than isolated occurrences. These personality traits can be linked to the various personality types, but keep in mind that no two personality types are the same, even if they are similar. The ISTJ personality type, for example, appears serious and formal. They are typically reserved, quiet, and composed. They enjoy using analytical and critical thinking and are very detail-oriented. They are most likely dentists, accountants, business analysts, and so on.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are abilities expressed in how you work and interact with others. Communication, teamwork, and other soft skills are some examples of soft skills. 

         Photo credit: Cherrydeck

Your personality traits may indicate which job or industry is best for you, but "soft skills" define how good you are at the job. This means that they complement each other. Your personality may be drawn to computer engineering, but in order to excel in that field, you must have soft skills such as teamwork.

Now that we've distinguished between soft skills and personality traits, let's look at how they can be learned or improved. Here are some ways to learn soft skills and personality traits:

• Take courses on them: It is now easier to learn about these topics. There are numerous courses available that teach you about your soft skills and personality traits. Some of them are free and they are not time-consuming. A good number of them award certificates, thus setting you as an attractive candidate.  
• Request feedback from people: It is critical to solicit feedback from friends and colleagues because it can help you identify areas where you are lacking and how you can improve. Feedback is beneficial because it comes from people who know us and spend time with us. Note that It's critical to pick and choose who you take feedback from because not everyone has good intentions.

    Photo credit: Austin Distel

• Find a mentor: Find a mentor who possesses the character traits or skills that you wish to learn or improve. Spend time with them, observe them, ask questions, and incorporate their ideas into your life. For example, if you want to improve your teamwork skills, find a friend, colleague, or boss to serve as your mentor. We live in the most connected century, and you can receive training online. 
• Step out of your comfort zone: When looking to learn or improve a specific skill or character trait, you should immerse yourself in that environment; you don't have to know everything; you can try it out or simply observe. For example, if you want to become more patient, you should spend time with children or the elderly.
• Take some time to reflect: Self-reflection is a beneficial practice for everyone, but it requires focus in today's fast-paced world. We tend to move from one task or meeting to the next with little if any, consideration for how we presented ourselves or acted in the previous time slot. Schedule some short periods of self-reflection throughout the day, if possible.
• Be willing to learn: Nothing good comes easily; it is important to keep in mind that you will face obstacles. This should not deter you. Instead, ask yourself what you can learn from it and what you can do better the next time. This is true not only at work but also in your personal life.

To sum up

It's perfectly fine to not know everything (A common saying states: "Fail your way to success). Don't be too hard on yourself if you fall short in some of the skills or personality traits you're attempting to instil. Instead of berating yourself, learn from your mistakes and do better next time. The goal is not to be perfect but to improve every day. So embrace the daily journey of learning.

Thank you for reading.

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written by PLEASANT