Reflective Essay on Personality, Emotional Intelligence, and Critical Thinking

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Reflective Essay
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1REFLECTIVE ESSAY
In the opinion of Raymond Cattell articulated in his “Trait-based personality
theories”, a person’s personality is the “traits that predict a person's behavior” (Eysenck
2013). In other words, personality can be defined as the “set of habitual behaviors,
cognitions and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors”
(Eysenck 2013). Personality, therefore, is the response of an individual to the outside world
around him or her (Lasswell 2017). Therefore, the concept of personality is used by the
various individuals not only to respond to the outside world but also to portray an image of
themselves to the outside world (Josefsson et al. 2013).
I would like to comment here that in the present times I have become kind of an
extrovert person who does not likes to interact much with the other people. In addition to this,
I would also say that I am an intuitive person and often judge people on the basis of their
personality or the way they themselves. However, at the same time I would comment that I
am a very thinking person. Furthermore, instead of focusing on the short term goals I like to
focus on the long term goals and hate to make the same kind of mistakes.
Personal Value Inventory (PVI) is a tool which is used to measure the strengths as
well as the weaknesses of a person’s personality (Parks-Leduc et al. 2015). This particular
tool takes the help of questionnaires to find out the most important behavioral traits of a
person (Parks-Leduc et al. 2015). The tool of PVI is often used by the various individuals to
get an idea about their key strengths and weaknesses (Dobewall et al. 2014). In general, the
tool of PVI is used by the people to get an idea about their strengths and weakness and it also
helps them in their personal development process (Hutteman et al. 2014).
The concept of emotional intelligence has gained much popularity in the recent times
and is increasingly being used by the various individuals to develop their overall character as
well as personality (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). The concept of emotional

2REFLECTIVE ESSAY
intelligence can be defined as “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's
emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically” (Zeidner,
Matthews and Roberts 2012). It is significant to note that this particular concept is
increasingly been seen as one of the most important traits of an effective leader in the present
times and therefore, I would like to cultivate this particular concept in my own character or
personality (Druskat, Mount and Sala 2013). The cultivation of this particular skill within my
personality is likely to act as one of key strengths.
The concept of leadership has gained much prominence in the recent times and it is a
reflection of this particular fact that the various individuals focus on the development of this
particular skills (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). The term is generally defined as the
“ability or the skill to lead other people or individuals towards the achievement of their
desired goals as well as objectives” (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee 2013). I would like to
add here that this particular skill is something which I would like to inculcate within my own
personality as that would help me in a significant manner in the later part of life when I will
start working.
I would like to say here that I like to kind of people who are self made and have
fought through all the odds of life to attain the success which they now hold. I admire the
never give-up spirit among the individuals. Bill Gates was a “National Merit Scholar” at the
“Lakeside School in 1973” and scored an impressive “1590 out of 1600 on the Scholastic
Aptitude Tests (SAT)” in the year 1973 to gain admission at the Harvard College. It is
significant to note that his parents wanted to pursue him a career in law however he followed
his passion and studied mathematics and computer science. His changing moment in life
came with his association with Microsoft and he became one of the primary reasons for the
success attained by the company in the later years. Therefore, I admire the persona of Bill
Gates and consider him as my mentor as defied all odds and followed his passion. His life