My 5 best personality traits that I’d like to improve

5 Personality traits

My name is Braden Schmidt. I’m a music creator, a rugby player, and a Netflix connoisseur. These are things people see when they take their first look at me. It can be difficult to see who someone truly is at first glance. We live in a world where showing an outer image is put above showing who you are on the inside. Like anyone else, it’s not until new people spend a good sum of time and an even bigger amount of energy getting to know me, that they see the person that I am. I believe that one of the biggest components involved in what makes people who they are is the people they spend the most time around. Today I have been tasked to speak write about five of those people in my life. As well as how they’ve impacted my personality, and the traits I have acquired in my 18 years on this earth that I would like to build upon. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek into the inner workings of my life.

-Caring-

I can truthfully say that there is nothing in life I find more important than the people accompanying me along my journey. I love and care for everyone in my life. My friends, my family, my co-workers, and even a stranger my life may cross paths with. This mindset is something that I have to accredit to my grandmother. She is one of the people I spend the most time around, and someone who has influenced the person I am more than anyone else. One thing she tried to instill in me since I was young was a love for others. This idea that you will never truly be a happy person unless you spend time making sure others are happy first. This has impacted me in ways I can’t even explain, but I still have some practice to do with this advice. While I am very caring and loving towards my friends. I still struggle with my family. There are days for all of us where our closest family members drive us crazy. Days that even the sound of them breathing is enough to drive us crazy. However, while this is normal, it’s not an excuse to treat them any differently than you would your closest friends or significant other. This is something I have struggled with throughout my lifetime. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family with all my heart, but I could definitely improve on remembering to care about their needs, and especially feelings as much as I do my own. 

-Patience-

“You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”-Zig ZIglar. This is my favorite quote of all time. To me it means that good things take time. If you want to achieve something great. You have to put in effort, time, and love. These three actions are known as a recipe for patience in Eastern culture. Growing up I was a very impatient person. I hated waiting for what I wanted, I was always looking for instant gratification. This held me back so often in life because I constantly found myself  disappointed in everything because it didn't come when I wanted it to. Even the greatest blessings in life I found underwhelming, simply because I had to wait for them. However, people don't become rich overnight, athletes don't go pro after their first week, Rome wasn't built in a day. Another person I spend a lot of my time around is my friend Alessio. Who has recently become a successful music artist and actor. Some of you might recognize the name “Zotto” which is his stage name. I’ve known Alessio since long before the fame hit, and if there’s one thing he’s always been great at is playing the long game. He has taught me so much about patience. He started applying for movie roles at age 12 and making music at age 13. It took a long time and a lot of hard work, but after a few years, at the age of 16, he landed a main role in the Netflix original “Rim of The World” and as of October 2019 he will be going on a nationwide tour opening for the artist “Max”. His life story teaches an important lesson on patience. One that I am currently working on instilling this lesson into my own life. I still have some very impatient tendencies to this day. I have certainly become better with the issue, but I could still use a lot of work.

-Stubbornness-

Immediately when we hear the word stubborn we think of something bad. The entire word in general has such a negative connotation around it. However, if used correctly, stubbornness can be a helpful tool in life. To me it brings carries a different meaning than society would suggest. To me, stubbornness means never giving up, it means setting your mind to something and pushing towards it no matter what gets in the way. My best friend Linzy is very stubborn by this definition. She is someone who doesn’t let life push her around and always achieves his goals no matter what stands in her way, and I can definitely say I’ve learned a lot from her. That’s why, by this definition I would consider myself to be a very stubborn person. However I would also say that I have the flip side of this trait ingrained in my personality as well. The idea that pops into your head when you hear “that guy is so stubborn” Is a part of who I am as well. I would really like to work on cutting that part of this trait out of my life to improve my stubborn nature. I don’t ever want to let life stand in the way of what I want to accomplish. However, I also don’t want to be some hard headed, stubborn guy who doesn’t listen to anyone else because he’s “never wrong”. This is why I would really like to improve how this trait defines who I am.

-Optimism-

This trait in specific feels like such a rare one these days. The world is flooded with constant negativity and pessimism. Everywhere you look people are complaining about what they don't like, or what they don't have. Almost as if they've forgotten about what they do have. Life in and of itself is something we should be thankful for. I truly believe that there is good in everything. No matter how bad things seem, or how dark life feels. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. People say that every rose has its thorns, but they seem to completely forget about the rose. Yes, there are a lot of negative aspects to life, but there’s just as many, if not more positives. That’s why I try as hard as I can to spread a message of positivity and optimism whenever I have the chance. However there are moments where I seem to forget my own mantra in life. I specifically find myself with a negative mindset surrounding my job. Working in the food industry is a high stress environment and sometimes when the day isn't going your way, it becomes very easy to be negative and pessimistic. This is something I struggle a lot with. My bright mood can disappear instantly when something doesn't go right at work. Luckily, I work with one of the most positive people I have ever met, my shift manager Alexis. The entire world could be burning around her and you’d find Alexis with a smile on her face explaining why it isn't so bad. My goal is to someday find that level of optimism and positivity inside myself. Not only because I know this would improve my productivity at work, but also because if you can find a way to stay happy even in the worst of situations. The good things in life really stand out.

-Productivity-

I like to think of myself as being a productive person. When I sit down and get into my zone I get a lot done. I typically meet all my deadlines, and I can bang out a week's worth of work in a day or two if I really put my focus in. However, like many people these days, I often struggle with procrastination. I have a bad tendency to put a project off until a day or two before its due, even though I had a week to do it in the first place. This puts a lot of unneeded stress on me. This is something I desperately want to improve on. Especially as I move on from my high school days to a far more stressful and busy adult life. One person I really look up to in this arena is my father Brad. He works 10+ hours a day doing the work of 2-3 people half the time. I strive to be as productive as him someday. I am constantly working on removing my procrastination filled nature from my life. This has definitely been a long term project for me, but as each day goes on I continue to get better and better.

So there you have it. Hopefully this provided you with a glimpse into who I am as a person, and the things I value in life.

-Braden Schmidt 9/7/2019