To what extent can a person change themselves?

[Ebbs]

My dad always told me stuff like, "If you believe you can't do it, and you tell yourself you can't do it, you won't do it."

He was right to an extent because if you close your mind off you won't be able to complete anything.

There's also the familiarity concept. At first you don't like pickles, but as you grow up and pickles every now and then show up in your meals you get a taste for them.

So I'm wondering how far can you go in changing yourself? If you tell yourself you're capable of a change everyday, and expose yourself to it every day does it matter what it is?

Or are there inherent features in your DNA that will never allow you to change certain aspects of yourself.

[Pinstripe power]

people don't change

[FOBolous]

i think people can change...if they have enough willpower.

i was bullied elementary school. then in middle school, i was super shy and timid (no doubt because of the bullying). however, i know this is not who i want to be and not who i really am inside. so i worked to change myself. by 10th grade, i was one of the "cool" kids. and as one of the "cool" kids who knows what it feels like to be bullied, i help out other kids when they were bullied so they don't have to experience what i experienced.

and then i changed more towards the end of high school and in college. despite the fact that i've improved my social life, i was still painfully shy around girls i like and can't seem to get a girlfriend no matter what i do. so i willed myself to change more. i managed to date one of the hottest girl i've ever met for two years when i got into college. and i dated another hot girl (she worked at Hooters ) after her for two years with whom i recently broke up with.

so it's about will power. figure out what's keeping you from being confident about yourself and change THAT. figure out what about yourself can be improved and improve.

[lakers4sho]

ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　（ｃａｎ）　ｃｈａｎｇｅ。　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｔｈａｔ　 ｔｈｅｙ　ｄｉｓｃｏｖｅｒ　ｎｅｗ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｔｈｅｍｓｅｌｖｅｓ　ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ　 ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅ。

ｏｕｒ　ｇｅｎｅｔｉｃｓ　ｄｅｔｅｒｍｉｎｅ　ｗｈｏ　ｗｅ　ａｒｅ。

[bosox3431]

Of course people can change. If you say theh cant, you're saying your the same person you were 10 years ago?

[Gene2420]

I took a Psych of Personalities class and there was a lot of evidence/data that shows that people do not or rarely change

[lakers4sho]

Ｊａｍｅｓ　Ｊｏｙｃｅ　ｓｈｅｄｓ　ｌｉｇｈｔ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｏｐｉｃ，　ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌｌｙ　 Ｐｏｒｔｒａｉｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　Ａｒｔｉｓｔ。

[Knowledge]

I do think people can change to some degree, though I believe that their are some things that if not learned at a young age can never be learned, but I also believe people's environments can keep them from changing or from finding their true selves. In sociology, we have been discussing self-fulfilling prophecy and how the expectations of the people around you can determine who you are.

Basically, answering a question like this is tricky because people are such social beings that, depending on who is around you/influencing you, your behavior changes.

[hugepatsfan]

My dad always told me stuff like, "If you believe you can't do it, and you tell yourself you can't do it, you won't do it."

He was right to an extent because if you close your mind off you won't be able to complete anything.

There's also the familiarity concept. At first you don't like pickles, but as you grow up and pickles every now and then show up in your meals you get a taste for them.

So I'm wondering how far can you go in changing yourself? If you tell yourself you're capable of a change everyday, and expose yourself to it every day does it matter what it is?

Or are there inherent features in your DNA that will never allow you to change certain aspects of yourself.

I think this thread is code for Ebbs coming out of the closet.

[StarvingKnick22]

Ｊａｍｅｓ　Ｊｏｙｃｅ　ｓｈｅｄｓ　ｌｉｇｈｔ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｏｐｉｃ，　ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌｌｙ　 Ｐｏｒｔｒａｉｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　Ａｒｔｉｓｔ。

.......stop

[todu82]

I think people can change. They just need will power to do so.

[Tragedy]

People can absolutely change.

I was a HUGE prick in middle school and high school. I bullied anyone and everything. Some of the things I said and did are almost not believable. How I never got the crap kicked out of me, I'll never know.

I was an AWFUL student, too. Constantly suspended, didn't give a damn about school, couldn't control my anger, etc. I had a 1.9 GPA in high school!

Here I am a 24. I took time off after high school, and am about to get my bachelors. I'm an honors student. 3.7 GPA. I don't fight anyone. I'm about as anti bully as possible these days. I try to be extra nice to anyone that I know I bullied back in the day, and I've apologized to so many people for the way I was.

Yeah, people can change.

[Raidaz4Life]

There is no limit on a person's ability to change in terms of personality(other than maybe mental capacities of the brain or physical of the body). If they claim they can't change or that they are who they are then they are simply weak. As a previous poster said it is all will power. I change different aspects of myself by the day, hour, even minute.

[Iansnightout]

I think it takes a rare person to change who they are. I've never personally met one

[Raidaz4Life]

I think it takes a rare person to change who they are. I've never personally met one

I think that is because there has been a growing sentiment for people to accept who they are and not to criticize people for who they are.


Its not that they can't. It's that they have little incentive too.