The Comparison of My Ideal Self and Current Self

How is Ideal Self different from Current Self and what would it take for me to develop this Ideal Self? This question I am going to answer within the my ideal self essay. I am going to assess myself on the basis of different personality models/tests, compare the results to what I feel are the ideal characteristics for surviving in the VUCA world, and analyze how I can bridge the gap between my Current Self and Ideal Self. Most of our behaviour stems from our personalites. Understanding the components of personality helps us predict behaviour. The Big Five Model suggest that five basic dimensions underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variation in human persoanlity. Results of this test do a very good job of predicting how people behave in real life situations.

Conscientiousness

This is a measure of personal consistency and reliability. Conscientiousness is the personality trait of a person who shows an awareness of how their behaviour impacts others around them.

Ideal Self

My Ideal Self would be someone who would be considered extremely reliable. He would be very well organized, keen to stick to schedule and budget for all futute events well in advance. He would also be highly ambitious, driven by his personal goals, and constantly strive to achieve excellence. It goes without saying that in order to do so, my Ideal Self would need to be hard-working and more willing to persevere through difficult situations. However, individuals who score high in conscientiousness on a personality test can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. They might also be seen as being boring or inflexible. According to me, the ideal score would an above-average for this domain.

Current Self

My score on Conscientiousness is average. This suggests that I am resonably reliable, organized, and self controlled. I prefer to deliberate over the options available to me rather than making impulsive decisions. I may be slower at making choices, but I am always confident that the decision that I have made was correct. However, there is some scope of improvement. I need to be more goal and action oriented, and strive harder for achievement. I could achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence.

Emotional Stability/Neuroticism

This dimension is a measure of a person’s ability to withstand stress and deal with emotions.

Ideal Self

My Ideal Self would be someone who is completely emotionally stable. This would lead to me being more positive, optimistic and not prone to succumb to negative emotions. My Ideal Self would get a low score on Neuroticism or a high score on Emotional stability, which would suggest that I am calm, self-confident, and secure no matter what situation arises. For a manager, this dimension is extremely important since in the VUCA business world situations are constantly changing, and nothing can be expected. This can lead to a very stressful work-life if a person can’t handle stress or succumb to negative emotions like anger. This inability of emotional regulation can reduce the ability of a person to think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress.

Current Self

My score core on Neuroticism is low, indicating that I am exceptionally calm, composed and unflappable. I do not react with intense emotions, even to situations that most people would describe as stressful. The gap between my Ideal Self and Current Self on the basis of this domain is almost negligible. I feel like I am as confident as I can be, can handle stressful situations really well, and not let anger get the best of me. I am able to maintain a more proportionate perspective on events. However, depression and anxiety being average might indicate that I may engaged too often and on the edge during periods of continuous stress and pressure. I can counter that by making sure I have a balanced work-life relationship and not subject myself to too much pressure.

Extraversion

This dimension indicates how outgoing and social a person is. It describes differences between people in their social interactions, positive emotions, impulsivity, and energy levels.

Ideal Self

My Ideal Self would get a high score for this trait. I believe that being a manager requires a great deal of interaction with other people. Managing people under you is not an easy task and requires you to be assertive as well as friendly. Dealing with board members and clients is also a huge part of the role of a manager. Being comfortable in settings that lead to being surrounded by people and being the centre of attention is of utmost importance. My Ideal Self would be an enthusiastic, action-oriented person. He would enjoy engaging with the external world, and maintain a cheerful and positive outlook on life.

Current Self

My score on Extraversion is high which indicates that I am sociable, outgoing, energetic, and lively. I prefer to be around people much of the time. Hence, for this domain the gap between my Current and Ideal Self is almost negligible.

Agreeableness

This dimension suggests how cooperative, warm, and trusting a person is. Agreeableness is an obvious advantage for building well-oiled teams and maintaining harmonies work relationship with others.

Ideal Self

My Ideal Self would be have a good balance of friendliness and assertiveness. As a manager, being tactful, warm and friendly comes in handy in order to lead a well functioning team. Being cold and antagonistic is the antithesis of what a manager should be. It is also important to get along with the people in your team. It’s a fact that agreeable people are more likeable than disagreeable people. My Ideal Self would be willing to put aside his interests for other people, and would be helpful, friendly, considerate, and generous. However, agreeableness may not be useful in some situations that require difficult or objective decisions.

Current Self

My score on this dimension is average. The score indicates that I have some concern and sympathy for other’s needs but that I also don’t trust people easily. Trusting people is a major part of a role as a manager, and that is something I need to work on. I can do that by opening lines of communication with people and having the confidence that when a person makes a decision it is based on love, respect and consideration for me. I also find it hard to delegate work to people and tend to micromanage them. This leads to me being less focused on my work and I sometimes end up missing deadlines. I can improve on this by dividing up tasks amongst the team and assess their progress at regular intervals rather than micromanaging them completety.

Openness

The openness dimension suggests how open-minded a person is to new experiences, and whether they enjoy creativity and variety, or routine.

Ideal Self

My Ideal Self would be highly open to new experiences. Being creative, open to new and different ideas, are, in my opinion, necessary to survive in the VUCA business world. Having a high level of openness is crucial in jobs that need creative thinking and flexible attitude. Since I plan to specialize in Marketing, it is highly important that I value creativity, art and have a vivid imagination.

Current Self

My score on Openness to Experience is high, indicating I enjoy novelty, variety, and change. I am curious, imaginative, and creative. This is a positive result, in my opinion, since I am close to being my Ideal Self. However, I also need to be wary of letting myself get carried away by the novelty of new experiences and be objective in my thinking. In some situations, being analytical and data driven rather than being creative and risk-loving, is necessary to take objective decisions.

Conclusion 

What would be the best way to manage this Ideal Self? Managing this Ideal Self requires a realistic assessment of yourself and your own abilities. Your self-ideal must be challenging and somewhat out of reach, but not too challenging or too far beyond the realm of possibility. Unrealistic expectations will lead to major disappointment as there will be little motivation to pursue this ideal version of yourself. It is important to tone down those goals and build smaller milestones along your journey.

Continuous progress, constant self-evaluation and regular feedback are the three most important things I need to do to reach my Ideal Self. Consistency is key. If I can consistently work on my weaknesses, I will eventually develop the habits that will get me closer to my Ideal Self. Feedback is an important indicator of how well I am actually managing the change that I’m aiming for.

We all want to reach a level where we are feeling happy and fulfilled. Reaching your goals feels great but that feeling survives on for a short time. Fulfillment comes from the journey of moving from a lower state to a higher state. I believe that there is always room to grow and you must keep moving forward. This is why it’s paramount that your self-ideal stays elusive and remains several steps ahead of where you are in your life.