What’s in a personality? Confidence, kindness, irritability, impulsiveness, moxie and spunk — hundreds of traits may come to mind. But psychologists believe it can actually be boiled down to just five:
- openness to new experiences,
- conscientiousness,
- extroversion,
- agreeableness,
- and neuroticism.
These are referred to as the Big Five, and your character is largely determined by how much or how little you possess of each attribute.
But your score on the Big Five isn’t set in stone. New research suggests that although 40% to 60% of our personalities are inherited, so it’s key to select good parents (wink-wink). The rest is shaped by our experiences and relationships, so it’s vital to immerse yourself in the best situations and milieus you can. That is, being born middle class in America.
Psychologists agree we can reshape ourselves, if we make the effort to do so.
Would you if you needed to, now that you know it can be done? Or, have you, would you, will you procrastinate rather than pursue productive change?
I can align myself, without an ounce of egotism, with the first four listed traits, but I negate any notion of neuroticism in my personality. Individuals with high scores on neuroticism are more likely than average to experience such feelings as anxiety, worry, fear, anger, frustration, envy, jealousy, pessimism, guilt, depressed mood, and loneliness. All adverse and anethemna to good health and happiness.
If you’ve met me, you know that few of those feelings clutter my daily life. I often state that my nickname, PJ, stand for peace and joy, which are key to me.
Seriously, I believe that envy is the root of all evil – and God may agree because half of the Ten Commandments condemn coveting.
P.S. I’m just going to stick this here, an interesting article I want to save. You might find it fascinating, too, so give it a read. https://nautil.us/why-we-procrastinate-234733/
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