Donald Trump is never going to win Mr. Personality

Poor Donnie. “Nobody likes me,” he bemoans, like a third-grader.

Jealous of his popular classmate Tony Fauci, Donald complains: “He’s got this high approval rating…Why don’t I have a high approval rating?… Nobody likes me. It could be my personality. I don’t know.”

Donald Trump is never going to win Mr. Personality.

It’s time Donnie takes a primary school refresher course in developing good personality traits and sound mental health in order to learn to take part in group activities without demanding his own way so often.

If Donald wants to make a good impression on the people he meets, he will need to develop desirable personality traits.

If you want to make a good impression on the people you meet you will need to develop desirable personality traits. Vintage school book Illustration from “Todays Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

Keeping Mentally Fit

Here are some helpful hints from a mid-century health book designed to help pupils learn more about emotions and their importance to self-adjustment and adjustment to others, offering guidance on developing skills for keeping mentally fit.

The 1960 health text-book entitled “Today’s Health,” was designed to help pupils develop more understanding of their own personalities and how they might achieve a better expression of desirable personality traits.

Developing Good Personality Traits

Vintage school book Illustration from “Today’s Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

You may ask yourself? What can I do to be better liked? How can I make a good impression?

We all want others to like us.

We all would like to be popular and to feel that we are part of a group. We all want and need friends.

If you want to be liked by others, you you will need to think about others and their happiness. Only by thinking about other people can you develop an awareness of their needs and problems.

Try to think of things to do and say that will please the other person. Of course you must be sincere. Falseness and flattery are signs of selfish immature personality and repel rather than attract friends.

It is important to be well-liked and make a good impression.

Keeping Mentally Fit

Vintage school book Illustration from “Todays Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

A person who is mentally fit is well-adjusted. This means he gets along well with himself and he gets along well with others.

A mentally fit person is cheerful. He does not think of himself as the center of everything. He is sympathetic to other people and has a friendly attitude towards them.

The person who is mentally fit does not take himself too seriously.

He is willing to take a reasonable amount of constructive criticism and to improve himself.

He does not usually run away from problems but tries instead to face reality and to adjust to it. He understands the emotional needs of other people and tries to be considerate and courteous in his relationships with them.

It is important to show self-control and courtesy.  Discuss the value of self-control and the experience of a wholesome personality.

Your Responsibility to Face Problems

Vintage school book Illustration from “Today’s Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

One thing that you can do to help yourself keep mentally fit is to learn to face your problems.”

When you develop the habit of facing your problems you are not apt to use excuses in order to face reality. The decisions and judgments that you make today are far more mature than they were a few years ago. Each time you take steps to solve it, you have helped yourself to grow in mental fitness.

Learning to Face Your Fears

Vintage school book Illustration from “Todays Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

It is normal to be afraid of some things.

But to keep mentally fit you must learn to face your fears. If you can learn to laugh about the things that you are afraid of then you will be making an adjustment towards better mental health.

If you admit your fears cheerfully and talk about them with other people you will discover that they too have fears. This may give you a better sense of security. It will help you to understand that while it is natural to be afraid of some things, a normal person is not always afraid.

Using Your Intelligence

Vintage school book Illustration from “Todays Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

Your opinions and attitudes are being influenced every day by the people and situations that you meet.”

You are probably learning to be more tolerant of the opinions of others even though you do not always agree with them. This is one of the ways of using your intelligence to grow in mental intelligence.

You may find yourself in a situation where you have to take a firm stand because of your opinions.”

“Others will learn to respect you for defending principles in which you believe, provided you weigh the facts and information carefully and are fair in your judgment. Others will be more receptive to your ideas if you are willing to listen to theirs with appreciation for a new or different viewpoint.”

It is not weakness but strength if at times you can say honestly ‘I begin to see your viewpoint, perhaps I was wrong.’ When this happens be as willing to defend your new views as you did your former ideas.

Using your intelligence can be exciting! But as a stable genius Donald already knows this!

Good and Bad Days

Vintage school book Illustration from “Today’s Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

You may wonder why you feel so deeply about things.

There may be times when the whole world seems to be against you.

The important thing to know is that as you grow older, you will develop a better control of your emotions. You will have more experience in meeting new situations and gradually you will become more skillful in checking angry or upset feelings.

You will also be more skillful in finding things to do and say that will make you and others feel comfortable. Finally you will be more skillful in choosing the proper time to use humor to cheer up a friend as well as the proper time to be sympathetic and understanding.

Learning To Be a Team Player

Vintage school book Illustration from “Todays Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

“It is also important for good mental health and for an attractive personality not to give in to upset feelings every time you are faced with a problem.”

“Everyone, even an adult has had a bad day now and then when the world seems at 6’s and 7s. But happily, most people learn to control their emotions, face their problems, and try to solve them intelligently.”

To Get Along You Have to Go Along

A Mentally Fit Person Is Not Resentful

Vintage school book Illustration from “Today’s Health” Laidlaw Bros. 1960

The mentally fit person has good self-control and is not resentful of having to obey laws and regulations of the family, group, or the community to which he belongs. He is a co-operative person who accepts disappointment and learns to compromise.

Donald has had difficulty in learning to compromise. Until he does the only thing being compromised is our democracy.

© Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.