Most psychologists think that with sustained effort you can shift your personality. A recent study had people assess where they scored on the Big Five personality traits, asked them what they wanted to change, and had them complete four challenges a week for the next 15 weeks designed to work on those traits. At the end of the study, there was significant progress made on those traits. However, there was also the fear of backsliding, so changing your personality may be more difficult than you think.
Key Takeaways:
- The more steadily people worked towards their goals, the more they succeeded.
- Follow-through, in this particular study, was far more important than anyone expected.
- It also seems you have to work at changes like this for a long time, possibly forever.
“Overall, the study seems to confirm that you can, indeed, change your personality, but you can’t just want to change it.”
Read more: https://curiosity.com/topics/can-you-change-your-personality-curiosity