It can be exciting pretending to be someone else, a chance to forget about ourselves for a moment and get immersed into another character. This can be hard work though, constantly overriding our natural personality would cause a cognitive strain. Actors have the ability to switch between characters, although I’m sure this can’t be easy at times when they get so deep into their characters. This question is – do we put on an act in our workplace? Are we putting in extra work to hide our real self? If so, wouldn’t it be easier to just be ourselves?
Waiting a minute – are you saying I should let people see what I’m REALLY like! That’s a scary thought! The reality is we all put on some sort of mask while we’re at work, and other places, to subdue what we may think is inappropriate….maybe it’s safer for others that way! As much as this makes sense I also think it’s important not to filter everything out, we are all beautifully different, we should allow our personality quirks to shine through.
Why would we hide something that makes us who we are?
Let’s face it, work can be a boring place, but there are people that brighten up the place. Have you ever looked forward to work because someone in the team with an entertaining personality was back from holiday? Certain individuals can make all the difference to moral in the office. I’m sure there are many who hide parts of their personality for various reasons. One main reason is being afraid what others might think and this barrier is our grown up comfort blanket that keeps us safe.
As tech people, we are geeky and weird in a wonderful way – why not to be that person? During my school days I was a closet geek, I wanted to be seen as cool and hang out with the cool kids! I was really self conscious what others thought of me which only meant hiding my geekiness. Now I’m a proud geek and try to allow my personality to come through in all situations. (Admittedly I’ve struggled with this writing blogs…still a work in progress!)
Interviews are one place where we are on our best behaviour, trying to set a good impression. Of course we’re nervous, but it’s important to show what is unique about you. When I interview people I’m looking for tells about a candidate’s personality, asking myself will they gel with the team? This is the time to get your personality across and stand out from the crowd (in a good way of course!) I’m impressed by those who are able to get their character across in an interview, of course they need have the relevant skills too, but their personality goes a long way, could even be a deciding factor!
The world can be all too serious at times, we need humour, we need banter – otherwise we fall into the pit of despair! We don’t want to be there! If you are hiding some of our personality why don’t you try letting it out! Allow people to like you for who you are, not a masked infiltrator! Be confident about your weirdness and show off the wonderfully weird things you like.
Isn’t it much easier just being ourselves?
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