Can We Change Our Personality?

Dr. Christian Jarrett’s theory, which he explained in his latest work, reveals that personality can change. So how does this happen? Let’s see together.

Your personality reflects your long-term habits of thought, behavior, and emotion. Personality differs from moods and emotional states that change over shorter periods of time, such as minutes and hours.

According to the most evidence-based and widely validated OCEAN personality model, the five main trait dimensions of personality are:

Open-mindedness: Embracing new ideas and experiences

Conscientiousness: The criterion of being disciplined and ambitious

Extraversion: How social you are and a self-reward mechanism

Agreeability: An indicator of how friendly and trustworthy you are

Neuroticism: How anxious and emotionally sensitive you are

Together, this personality pattern is known as the “Big Five” traits. Your scores on them are incredibly important. So much so that the degree to which you have these characteristics can be an important factor in predicting your career success, happiness, and even your longevity. Strong extroverts, for example, tend to live shorter and happier lives. Highly conscientious people tend to do better at work. And extremely open-minded people are less vulnerable to dementia.

Some tests are popular, such as the Myers-Briggs test. However, they are not seen as scientific and valid by mainstream psychologists. Because these tests cannot effectively reflect the “Big Five” personality model. You get different scores each time you take the test.

How Much of Our Personalities Are Genetic?

About 30 to 50 percent of personality differences between people are due to differences in the genes they inherit from their parents. Of course, we should not ignore that early and later life experiences such as marriage and divorce, illness, job loss, parenthood, peer pressure, and age leave their mark on our personality.

In fact, it was believed that the personality settles at the age of 30. But research that followed the same people longitudinally over decades has shown that personality traits continue to change over a lifetime.

Personality indeed tends to stagnate as we age. However, this is because most of us have settled into our lifestyle and routine habits, that is, we cannot break away from them. But it should be known that there is no reason why you should not deliberately change your personality traits with the right approach and determination.

How Can I Be More Extroverted?

Any attempt at personality change is more likely to succeed if it is in the service of a greater value, purpose, or ideal than to do something or please someone.

For example, being more extroverted, with the inner drive burgeoning through a greater willingness to network to help your business, is more successful than trying to be an extrovert simply because it’s desirable.

Another golden rule is that you have to change your thinking and behavior patterns until they become habits.

A good way to become more extroverted is to use “if-then” plans to increase your sociability. For example, “if I sit on a train next to a stranger, then I try to start a conversation”. It’s also important to reevaluate your anxiety in social situations as excitement.

It will be difficult at first, but research shows that even strong introverts enjoy acting more extroverts than they think.

Did Crash Change My Personality?

Yes, this is possible. This is any permanent and radical change in our lives; it may be in our situation, social company, or emotional difficulties, all these are likely to affect personality traits.

However, quarantine was not the same for everyone and we all experienced this situation with different key features. Some people have lived in social isolation for months; others had to balance childcare and homework; Those working in the healthcare, essential retail, or public transport sectors still worked in the same environment but faced new challenges. This type of quarantine means that there is no such thing as a single “isolation personality”. Instead, the effects of quarantine will be personal.

For example, there is evidence that if you are isolated or lonely, this will lead to a decrease in extraversion. However, being aware of these effects on your personality can help you consciously combat them and get yourself back on track.

How Can I Be More Open-Minded?

We tend to be more closed-minded as we get older; that is, we are more stuck in our ways and beliefs. One way to counter this is to consciously seek out new experiences and perspectives.

Commit to trying a different restaurant each time you dine out or visit different places instead of always returning to the same spot for your vacation, during the free times allowed outside of pandemic restrictions. Consider trying new art forms like poetry or opera that you haven’t tried before.

Working on physical and mental fitness by taking regular walks and completing mind games and puzzles is also a less obvious contribution compared to the previous examples.

Such activities are linked to increases in open-mindedness. In a nutshell, the theory explains that they help build your confidence and therefore your willingness to learn new things. This brings with it a change in your personality.