Changing a pattern of behavior

Personality Be Changed When it comes to personality and psychology, not to mention other fields, there is the ever-present question about whether and to what extent personality can be changed to a significant degree. More to the point, the question has become mostly two fold. First, there is the question of nature versus nurture whereby what is environmental (nurture) and what is predisposed from genetics and such (nature) is responsible for how people develop and why.

The second prong of the debate centers on how much can be changed once the proverbial pathways are set. While making a broad-based and definitive statement about all people and situations is obviously unwise, unscientific and irrational, there are some general truths and trends that hold to be what they are more often than not. Analysis Life is all about change and how people adjust to them. Major changes in one's life can lead to good shifts and bad shifts.

Further, things that are generally held to be good can cause bad things to happen and the same is true in reverse. For example, someone getting married is presumably a good thing. However, it can be a huge adjustment and culture shock to shift from the single lifestyle to the married lifestyle. Beyond that are the factors that lead to the marriage.

Of course, a blissful courtship and a smooth transition into newlywed status is the dream but there are many people that get married under less than optimal circumstances such as disapproving parents, hellish in-laws, getting married due to an unplanned pregnancy and getting married just to escape what is perceived to be a worse situation. The point is that looking at a change and assuming it is good or bad is just not something one can do.

Further, there is the fact that the way in which a person responsds and plays off of change will entirely depend on their perspective when it comes to that change. If the person in question is pessimistic or down, the chances that they will react will, whether the good is generally good or bad, is probably not going to be good. At the very least, it will not be as good as it could or should be, all else equal.

On the other hand, people that are generally assertive, positive and willing to weather a challenge will generally respond well to all changes, good or bad. The question becomes how one can change from a negative person to a positive one. The shift in the opposite direction is quite common and can happen for a number of reasons.

What is exceedingly hard for most people for people mired in life and its slings and arrows is restoring (or gaining for the first time, in some cases) a sense of optimism and pushing forward. For her part, Ms. Dweck wrote a journal article on the subject and had several important things to say.

She argues that irrespective of what is going on, core beliefs are the heart of one's personality and that those beliefs play a huge part in how a person reacts and whether their personality can shift and change. If a person's beliefs are not positive, the results that comes from how those reactions influence decisions will almost surely match. In short, Ms. Dweck asserts that personality can be changed but that beliefs and motivation is at the epicenter of whether a person can pull that off.

If the will to survive and change for the better is not there, then the chances of that person changing for the better are not likely. Indeed, people that get stuck in a proverbial rut are more likely than not to stay there, at least in the.