Know Thyself, The Persona

 

Know Thyself, The Persona

The Persona is the face, or mask, that we present to the public, whether in the form of a one-on-one conversation with a friend, or a dinner with family or friends, or a gala occasion like a wedding reception or a retirement party. One reason that it is important to recognize and understand the Persona is that the opinion that others have of you is often based on the part of your personality that they actually see. First impressions are important! I could write an academic article on the psychology of the Persona, but I think the concept can be effectively presented though a few examples.

Having chosen a scholarly lifestyle in childhood, I gradually came to be perceived that way, and was voted “Most Scholarly” in the high school graduating class, with my picture in the “Class Mirror” of the annual. I was proud of that flattering honorific, little realizing that many of my classmates thought of it simply as a euphemism for “biggest nerd”.

My Persona suffered another disastrous influence in a college English course devoted to Composition. A question arose concerning the use of profanity. The professor opined, “Profanity is an artificial attempt to strengthen your conversation. If you have something interesting to say, you don't have to resort to profanity”. That made a lot of sense to me, so I resolved that I would always have something interesting to say. Consequently, I lived for decades trying to start conversations about fascinating subjects like the comparative literary value of German versus French literature, or the role of carbon dioxide in nature's energy transfer system. For years I unknowingly maintained a Persona of “The most boring person in the room”.

During my career at NASA, I observed several examples of Personas that underwent a sudden, overnight transition. One of my colleagues, a friendly guy born and raised in Georgia, succeeded in getting a doctorate degree. On the day after the degree was awarded, he no longer spoke with a slight southern drawl, but with a cultured British accent, with a Persona that somehow seemed to demand respect.

Even more typical was the run-of-the-mill engineer who was suddenly promoted to a supervisory position. He became a Section Head, which was the lowest of supervisory positions, and was later eliminated altogether as a supervisory level. As a colleague he had been a pleasant, friendly individual; but when he became a supervisor, he immediately asserted his authority in every conceivable way.

A more amusing situation arose when a typical computer “nerd” was promoted to a Branch Head position. He had spent his career as a quiet introspective programmer who had written a program that impressed his boss (who was also his personal friend). Apparently either this boss had given him some tips on how to demand respect, or he had read a book on the subject, because he carried it to such an extreme that his behaviour became more entertaining than annoying. When someone would walk into his office to say, “Good morning” or to ask a question, he would throw up his hand in the pose of a traffic policemen halting a lane of cars; and then finish doing something before turning his attention to his visitor. That was so funny that we, the subordinates, began doing to each other just for kicks.

There is another aspect of the Persona that I should mention. It is not just about performing an act in the role of a personality that will leave the kind of impression that we choose. It is also about concealing those traits that we don't want revealed. Sometimes considerable discipline is required to enforce those inhibitions. And sometimes an individual will resort to alcohol, which is often served at social gatherings, to give him the strength to get through the ordeal. Of course, this strategy is counterproductive. The alcohol tends to open seams in the staves that restrain the inner personality, and pieces of it begin to seep through. This is the meaning of the adage, “In vino veritas” - “in wine there is truth”. The personalities that sneak into the party via alcohol include The Shouter, who needs to draw attention to himself; the Seducer, who makes crude suggestive remarks to the women present; The Complainer, who whines on forever about his problems; The Braggart, whose possessions and experiences are always more amazing than those of the previous storyteller; etc. The reader who has attended a few parties has surely observed several of these entities that emerge after a few drinks.

So, it is important that we should always maintain control over the Persona. We call it the Persona, rather than the Personas, even though it may well change depending on the society that we are with at the time. If we are not confident in this society, we may closely observe the behavior of others present, and adjust our Persona so as to not be embarrassed. This situation is common with introverts and those who don't have much contact with work associates or family members. And it is especially true of teenagers, who desire to be “cool” and not be ridiculed. So, allowing for some adjustment in the personality for the purpose of having a smooth and harmonious relationship with others can be a good thing, provided that it doesn't go so far as to drive us to do things for which we would lose self-respect.

But a real danger arises if we begin to identify with a Persona created by the group mentality. The Self should always be in control, deliberately choosing the words and actions that are appropriate for the situation at hand. If we look to the society in which we find ourselves for guidance as to what we should think and be, then we have abdicated our responsibility and turned our lives over to an abstract entity. And we will never achieve our full potential as an individual.

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