The word ‘personality’ connotes to a very broad and wider aspect. Personality in general is the sum total of all our habits- be it physical, mental or emotional. Environment or social and cultural influences acquire the major part of your personality and define who you are thus shaping your attitude. The attitude of a person thus makes up for the major part of one’s personality. Personality is not something that is only innate but also acquired which in turn means that whatever experiences, environmental influences one comes across, all shape up one’s personality which means one can always change their attitudes by countering the negative influences and catering to the positive ones. The SSB’s assess your personality through the OLQ’s which are an index of the behavioral qualities desired out of every Officer of the Armed Forces. The OLQ’s are nothing but a few basic traits, attitudes or qualities that every individual should possess to be a successful person in life. The candidates are judged on the basis of these personality traits and all the tasks the candidates go through requires the displaying of these OLQ’s and thus stands as the deciding game changer of their selection process. The SSB’s apart from assessing your intellectual quotient . The focus is on the assessment of your personality, all the qualities and traits an individual possesses decides what kind of person the individual is and will be in future and the same qualities are assessed by different means through these psychological tests in SSB.
Effective techniques to improve personality for SSB Interviews
1) Be an observant and develop curiosity to learn new things which will in turn make your thoughts to be more practical making you have a good presence of mind and improved general awareness. Involving yourself in meditation, solving puzzles, and games can help you in developing this quality to an extent.
2) Read newspapers, magazines, journals to develop your reasoning ability. You must have a logical and practical reason to whatever you say and that is possible only when you make or have your own opinion that shows your true self while assessment.
3) Develop your power of expression so that you can crisply put your ideas and thoughts in a sentence before the assessors. To inculcate the same practice in front of a mirror by reading novels or newspapers and interact with people around .
4) Be socially adaptable to any situation or person so that you can easily adjust in any situation and gel out with the people around therefore be open to people, initiate and start a conversation without limiting yourself and try to meet and speak with people more often.
5) Learn to be co operative and disciplined because army is all about team work therefore you need to learn to be a solver of the situations and always be ready to help others which can be developed by playing team games like football, basketball, participating in group plays, etc.
6) Have oodles of self confidence because whatever you speak or do you must be confident with the same and have that fire in you that leads people to listen to you and follow you.
7) Learn to take initiatives, be an active participant in having voice in your home affairs, and participate in extracurricular activities. Learn to take a stand for things because then only you can have the courage and power of conviction. People look upto those you take initiative.
8) Be an influencer. This quality is linked to how better are you able to express yourself in a group or before people and this is possible only when you can express your ideas and thoughts in an effective manner that influences people towards listening you or agreeing with you. Keep updated about the current affairs and take part in group discussions, debates, etc. for the same.
9) Have a strong sense of commitment and determination. Be focused and have dedication in whatever work you do as then only you can be focused and goal –oriented.
10) Be lively and cheerful. Live life to the fullest with smile and enj every moment of life. Try avoiding cribbing, crying or complaining about things rather crack jokes and try making people cheerful even in stressful situations.
11) Increase your stamina not to only to develop your body but also to focus in order to push your self to the limits and go that extra mile that will boost your confidence and in turn increase your stamina. You can jog, hit the gym, run around or even meditate for the same to be physically and mentally sound.
12) Be courageous and brave because an Army officer should have at prime this quality of his or her and that you should not shun in any work assigned to you and have the guts to be fearless in any situation before you .
This is not the entirety but definitely implementing and practicing these tips in life is bound to impact and bring a great change in the sociability and personality of an individual. All of the above mentioned qualities are inter linked and make up your personality which is assessed and measured so at any point you cannot fake yourself or your performance. Start mentoring your personality so that you are mentally fit for defence services and make yourself grab a viable spot to be a member of the elite forces. Good luck!!!!
By,
Maj Nasreen Fatima
(sqn Ldr Retd.) ex. NDA Instructor
Academic Head CEPL
