To what extent do you have control over your personality?

It has been accepted that individuals cannot alter their identity. Although, it is possible to change certain personality traits by developing certain habits or trying to act a certain way - you can’t pretend to be someone you are not your entire life.

The site Bc Campuses article on “Personality and Behaviour” states “Personality traits such as introversion, friendliness, conscientiousness, honesty, and helpfulness are important because they help explain consistencies in behaviour.”

We have control over our actions, and over our behaviour - but we don’t have control over our friendliness or honesty. Although over the years we shape our personality, we don’t even realize we are doing it. All of our choices affect who we are - if you quit today, that may cause you to quit tomorrow. The consequence of this pattern over the course of 21 days is the development of a bad habit. Eventually, this bad habit becomes a part of you.

Have you ever written new year resolutions? Because I most definitely have. We write new year’s resolutions hoping to improve certain components of our personality, or of our everyday behaviour. I believe New Year's resolutions are a great way to change your personality for the better.

As I have mentioned before, the regulation of our personality is limited, yet not impossible. The world we are born in has an effect on our life, whether we have a stable attachment with our parents in the first few months of our life or not has an effect on our life, every experience has an effect on our life. These influences, among many other factors, influence not only our personalities but also our wellbeing (mental and physical health), emotional control (social tolerance, flexibility, reflection on things), and other angles of our lives.

In conclusion, surrounding factors such as parenting and different relationships have an impact on personality. Based on genetic data, researchers have come to a conclusion that the environment accounts for approximately 50 - 70 percent of our personality.

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