Self Branding Assignment

               Casting an introspective look to determine my own strengths and weaknesses was eye opening but tough. It led me to a few surprising conclusions about myself; conclusions that were mostly supported by the results of the survey I sent out to my friends and family. It was a humbling yet uplifting experience to read what other's thought of me; I ensured the survey remained anonymous and as a result nobody bothered holding back at all!

               The survey contained open responses about my strengths, weaknesses and distinguishable characteristics, but it also asked about how well the person thought they knew me on a scale of 1-10. This last question was important as I wanted to measure the difference between people's initial and eventual perceptions of me. In many professional and personal settings it is important to make a strong and lasting first impression, thus understanding and maybe eliminating these differences is important to my growth.

 

 

Strengths

              Performing self analysis to figure out my strengths was easy; after all, who doesn't like thinking about their strong points? The first thing that came to mind was something I've not only known about myself but have heard echoed from multiple sources: confidence. I have always been a confident individual, never shying away from social interactions or professional/academic challenges. In high school I was an active member of extra curricular groups based on public speaking activities like debate, Model United Nations (MUN) etc. and had important roles in the school play every year. I think this confidence stems from my passion for dance; I have been performing on stage since I was 8 years old, and hence am very comfortable even under scrutiny. As a result, interacting with new people and giving a good first impression has always come naturally to me, and people often have a positive first impression of me. The survey results overwhelmingly supported this as well; nearly all responses contained 'confidence' as my primary strength. 

              The second most popular answer in the survey was intelligence or cognition. Over half of the responses mentioned intelligence as a strength. I believe my attentive nature and ability to absorb information allows me to understand concepts and theories fairly easily. This strength of mine shows through not only in academics but also social interactions. My friends and I have always loved debating on topics whether it be on politics, religion, social issues etc. and I believe my ability to demonstrate my views and influence others to agree with my views might be the cause of this survey response. There were also a few responses containing 'improvisation' as a strength, which stems from intelligence.

              Many respondents also mentioned determination as one of my primary strengths. I can understand where this comes from; once I make up my mind about a task I ensure I follow through with it. Regardless of how impossible a task might seem, I have found in myself the ability to not stress out and merely begin performing said task till I eventually complete it. This trait has helped me tremendously with deadlines and projects in college despite my habit to procrastinate. It also helped me understand the pointlessness of 'stress', as it doesn't serve any purpose. I have found that the difficult part is to stop overthinking and just start performing the task; the pieces naturally start falling together once one masters that. 

              Other important responses in the survey included honesty, which I had arrived upon as one of my primary strengths during self evaluation. This answer was more common among people who knew me well which is a reasonable result. I have never shied away from giving my honest opinion to my friends about their views, personality and decisions. This is a double edged sword; I have garnered respect from my peers for my honesty but also have inadvertently hurt some friends of mine. I have to work on my subtlety, but I believe being honest is ultimately a strength and I not only practice it with others but also myself, and expect others to be completely honest with me too.

Weaknesses         

               I say weaknesses, but the single overwhelming response to this question was overconfidence. People said it in different words and forms such as 'big ego' or 'cockiness', but the gist of it points to overconfidence. This is something I've known about myself for some time now, and I am completely guilty of it. My approach in everything I set out to do walks the thin line between confidence and overconfidence, teetering over the line very often. This has always been pointed out to me by my teachers and parents, and recently by my peers too. Overconfidence has also caught me unprepared sometimes, be it for examinations or sports or other competitions. For example, in my first ever Model United Nations conference I went in with very little preparation, sure that my public speaking abilities would help me succeed regardless. I was very, very mistaken- seeing how the other delegates had prepared themselves and came armed with knowledge of their country's policies/treaties/ideals cost me a victory. Every time it costs me something I grow wary of myself, work hard and give my due diligence to all my tasks, before eventually succumbing to my casual 'I can't be touched' approach again. I have been working on it but I still have a long road ahead, something I am not afraid to admit. This was the surprising conclusion I mentioned in the beginning- my greatest strength often can transform into my greatest weakness. 

               The other significant weakness mentioned was impatience and losing my temper which are tied together. I find myself getting annoyed at people very fast, especially if they're having difficulty doing or understanding something. For the longest time I could never tutor my sister for Mathematics, a subject she struggled in. Usually I never fight with her or yell at her no matter the circumstance, but when she would struggle with understanding algebra I'd get highly irritable. I also get impatient waiting for events or specific times. I have been working on this weakness as well, and being a part of many group projects in college has actually helped me with this.

Feature Benefit

                I believe my feature benefit actually lies in the outcome of this activity. I predicted the responses to my strengths and weaknesses fairly well and wasn't surprised by them. This actually reflected itself in some of the responses to my strengths - self awareness. I am aware of my strengths, and understand how to use them to my benefit. At the same time, I am very aware of my weaknesses, and constantly strive to overcome or at least reduce them. Add to this my penchant for honesty, and you get someone who knows how to exploit situations to his advantage and at the same time understands and avoids situations that put him at a disadvantage, all the while never being shy of giving or taking constructive criticism!