How do you describe yourself? I’m not just talking about listing off 5 traits about you. I’m referring to what you put on your social media profile.
About what you tell other people but don’t really believe in.
What you know you wouldn’t say at all in any other circumstance.
You see, a lot of us have a bias for ourselves. That much is obvious. However, what’s important to note is that our bias is so big that we’d instinctively describe ourselves in certain ways.
The reason I bring this up is that I read an article from Jeff Haden recently that talked about it. He mentioned some particular words people say, but not necessarily mean.
And what’s surprising is these are words that you otherwise wouldn’t expect. They’re not overly negative, but they are words that fill the air and are utterly pointless.
Innovative, world-class, authority, results-oriented, responsible, motivated. There is an extensive list that’s worth looking at.
But instead of dwelling on words to avoid when describing yourself, I wanted to focus on words that are better to describe ourselves. After all, even if we do have a bias, we can use better words than those in that article to describe ourselves.
Words that are more genuine and that are true to ourselves.
While every single person is different, broadly speaking, positive words can make an impact on our lives. It’s why we turn to affirmations or look for reassurance in various situations.
But when we find words that aptly describe who we really are, we stand by those words. Not to mention they push us to aspire for more.
For example, one word I use to describe myself is helpful. I want to be delivering value and keeping people motivated and in high spirits. But at the same time, I make a point of pushing people who are close to me. I also make a point to help myself and go beyond what most people do.
I’m certainly no saint, but I make a point of being useful to those around me while helping myself.
This ideology is what pushes me to be a positive force around others.
It’s these kinds of words that I’ll be listing off today for you. So take a look at them and if you feel a connection, adapt them to your life and let them guide you.
Ambitious
Can you describe yourself as someone who has a lot of aspirations? Do you have a lot of goals? This word may be fitting for you in the right kind of circumstances.
Being ambitious is good, but you don’t want it to be over the top or hypocritical. It’s easy for a lot of us to say we’re ambitious because we have a lot of goals or dreams. But dreams don’t turn into results.
It’s, for this reason, I’d describe someone as ambitious if they have a lot of goals and are actively working towards achieving those goals.
These goals don’t need to be extreme like solve global warming single-handedly or solve world hunger, but having a past of setting goals and getting them done is ambitious.
Especially since so many of us set goals and then fall flat on our faces and never get back up. That or give up before even starting.
Broad-minded
Use this to describe yourself if you are truly an open-minded individual. For sure you will have your likes and dislikes, but indulging someone or trying something you haven’t tried before is the criteria for this word.
Another word to describe this is adventurous or curious. That you are willing to look at new possibilities, consider new options, and take a jab at something new regardless of your concerns.
Committed To…
This one can be a little tricky to use. For example, I can say I’m committed to providing quality work, it’s not as impactful.
Why?
Well, I’m a writer and I’m building a business. It’s my job to be committed to providing the best I can.
It’s a given, it’s obvious, and is a filler statement.
Instead, saying I’m committed to peoples overall betterment is more impactful. It’s more focused and can give an idea of how I work with other people. While some can say that’s still obvious, people who do hire me will know I go the extra mile when given the room to do so.
I want to learn about a persons’ business so I can write better posts and articles that do matter to them and their audience. I’ll also go out of my way to spot other improvements I can make.
That’s not something you’ll see with every typical freelancer. Most will do what’s asked and nothing else.
What’s important here is when you tell yourself you are committed to something and you make sure it’s not obvious, you’ll find yourself holding to those standards. If that’s really what you think. And this can provide more depth to yourself. Both professionally and personally.
Considerate
This is a term that people throw around as well. Being considerate can mean donating to a good cause or doing volunteer work to those individuals.
But I’d go beyond that in order to be considered worthy of being considerate.
I’m not saying you need to be a doormat for people, instead, learning to identify and prioritize the most important person at that time and helping them where you can. This doesn’t have to be giving them money but you could offer to listen to them or help them with something.
In other words, being considerate is offering up your time to help someone in need in that moment. This means going beyond charity or volunteer work, but being a positive force around other people and to yourself.
Emotional
While people could say that means you are likely to cry, I would say to them:
“You’re not thinking big enough.”
Emotional isn’t just a word to describe someone who cries or whines a lot. Emotional can mean we articulate our emotions easier than other people. We can express ourselves and to others when we are happy, lonely, depressed, angry, or excited with ease.
And that’s a good thing.
I consider myself an emotional individual and over the years I’ve used that to my advantage. Because I’m emotional, if I feel down or looking for more, I can quickly identify what the problem is and work to solving it.
I’ve also used my emotions to convey gratitude and sincerity which has allowed me to form deep bonds. I’ve found solace in the fact that despite my circle of friends is small, I have deeper connections than most.
After all, many people these days see some friendships as superficial. That’s not necessarily a bad thing per se, but the lack of deeper friendships is still part of our social need in most cases.
So not only can emotional people seek solutions, but they’re more relatable and easier to open up to. After all, these individuals aren’t afraid to speak their mind and sometimes people are afraid to speak up about it.
Describe Yourself As A Good Listener
There’s a difference between a good listener and someone who listens well.
Someone who listens well will absorb the information.
A good listener will absorb the information, muddle it over, and provide insightful comments. They’ll make a point of reminding people or saying things previously stated.
Being a good listener takes practice. Of course, a lot of us will have a bias with this too, but the reality is most of us listen in order to respond. We don’t listen to internalize and to expand on conversations.
Call yourself a good listener and aspire to pay attention to people fully. Listen to what they have to say and take in their words fully.
Helpful
As I mentioned earlier, this is another word I describe myself and you can too. I’d say this is a softer word than considerate. Partly because I feel to be considerate is a higher sense of selflessness.
Anyway, being helpful is similar to being considerate, but not necessarily devoting your entire attention to people. I see being helpful as providing guidance but either in the future and the help is rather minor.
Like cleaning garbage, or helping someone with groceries. You know, small acts of kindness.
Optimistic
Describe yourself as optimistic if you are a person who is full of hope and looks on the positive side. Not only that, but also to use that optimism to motivate yourself and to keep pushing forward. This is despite failure or massive setbacks or other detours.
Describe Yourself As Patient
Having patience is a skill not a lot of us have. We have shorter and shorter attention spans these days than ever before. Use being patient only if you are someone who can wait.
I’m not just saying waiting for a few minutes. I’m talking about waiting for days or years on certain things.
To achieve that level of patience, it’s a matter of finding what is making you impatient in the first place and finding ways to curb it. It’s looking deeper into yourself and finding out what makes you so frustrated about waiting.
Resourceful
Being resourceful means understanding the bigger picture and being able to connect needs with solutions. It’s finding tools – whether it’s a program, people, a company, etc. – and bringing those things to people’s attention.
To do this, you need to have that open-mindedness I talked about. Not only that but recalling certain things as well. After all, sometimes you need to pull out answers from things you heard or saw years ago.
Describe Yourself As Successful
The last word I want to talk about successful. This is a great word to describe yourself and is something most people can use in some capacity.
While people would say being successful means having millions of dollars and be well known, success I believe comes both big and small. For one, I consider myself successful despite running a business that is making very little money at the time of writing this.
Despite that, I consider myself and my business successful. Why? Because I have clients and people now who are starting to become aware I exist. I am making enough money to support myself and to splurge a little on top of that.
Success doesn’t always akin to having mass riches and being well known. It’s being able to look at something impressive and saying “Yeah I accomplished that.”
Describe Yourself Extraordinarily
There are all kinds of positive words we can use to describe ourselves. Each one in their own way will influence our behaviour too. So even if you don’t fully believe in those titles, make a point of asking yourself some questions.
What will make you successful in your book?
What must be done for you to think of yourself as helpful? As resourceful? Or as broad-minded?
Consider the words you use to describe yourself and evaluate whether they are true or not. Back them up with actions that aptly describe those situations. If you can’t, stop telling yourself you are that way, or find reasons to pursue that title.
To your growth!
Eric S Burdon
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