If Personality Isn’t Permanent, Is A Person’s Character Permanent?
Our characters build strength and resiliency to be who we are today. Our mental and moral characters define our personal qualities, our personality – behaviours, beliefs, mindset, and habits – how we conduct ourselves. As we all know, our personalities are more visible and can change varying, depending on the situation and exposure we experienced at certain times. Character is objective, while personality is subjective.
In this online The Guardian article, titled, “Are our personalities set in stone, or can we work on – even improve – them?,” the writer wrote, “In his recent book Personality Isn’t Permanent, he [Dr Benjamin Hardy] argues personality isn’t fixed at all. Some shifts occur naturally as we go about our lives – but we can also consciously alter our traits should we so desire.”
Dr. Benjamin Hardy was quoted to have said, “And because most people’s identity is a fixed mindset, their imagination and willingness to change is pretty stunted,” he says. “It’s not that we can’t change, it’s that we don’t believe we can.”
Hence, as emphasised in my past articles, there is a real need to move from the fixed mindset to the growth mindset, if you want to profile competently. What this means is to move away from the thinking of entrapment that profiling in number patterns, or embracing the limited-use LifeCode remedies, are the best way to profile the character and personalities of people, and suggestions for effective remedies. The phrase that I’ve often used, “The Birth Chart Is NOT The Personality,” means that it is impossible to conduct a “identical predictive profiling” simply based only on the person’s birth chart, when two or more people have the same birth dates.
It is the external influences which have contributed, in part, to a person’s belief, and these, over time, would eventually become part of the person’s character. The family upbringing, formative years, domestic and political environment, academic and intellectual growth, social influences, the emotional intelligence, the shared values – these are external influences. And it is these external influences that could affect and change a person, especially when they are young, to formulate their personal sets of beliefs, perspectives, and reasoning… on how they conduct and response to situations, based on their own set of values.
I’ll give you an example of two individuals born on the same day. Billy Joe Harris has multiple personality disorders, according to this online Psychology Today article, titled, “Multiple Personality Excluded in Twilight Rapist Insanity Case.” The article quoted that Billy “suffered from multiple personality disorder — now known as dissociative identity disorder (DID) — brought on by childhood abuse.”
Teri Austin, a Canadian actress, was born on the same day as Billy. Unlike Billy, Teri’s early experience and family educations were different, as were the external influences of academic, social and environmental factors.
What’s that supposed to mean? Well, as I have often mentioned in earlier articles, we should not hastily assume that everyone inherits, inhibits and displays similar characters based on the same Birth Charts.
That is why I sometimes find it intriguing when numerology trainers spread the perceived assertions about a person’s character. Billy and Teri might have similar characteristics at birth, but over time, outside or external influences have affected their behaviours, personalities and life experiences. And these led to the formulation of different characters.
And that leads us to the title of today’s article – “If Personality Isn’t Permanent, Is A Person’s Character Permanent?”
You know your personality can change anytime, and so are your behaviours, mindset, and habits. But what about your character’s characteristics? Give it some thought. Can the character change, as some external trainers insisted that this should not occur?
NO, the character does not change when it is viewed from their fixed point of view, and the assumptions are still debatable. YES, the character of a person can change, when you inculcate and adopt agility in profiling. According to Ron Kurtus, author of the book “Tricks for Good Grades” (check out this link), he elaborated, “You reach adulthood with a set of character rules that define how you behave or conduct yourself. However, a traumatic set of events can cause you to change beliefs and your character.”
Billy became a “Twilight Rapist” as a result of his multiple personality disorders, contributed by childhood abuse during his formative years. Teri became an actress, as a result of her beliefs, character, and actions, contributed by experience during her formative years. And they both formed their own unique characters, although they share similar Birth Charts. For all we know, there might be others having the same birth date as Billy and Teri – like priests or monks – who might have inhibited a different set of character, due to their spiritual, religious, and holistic experiences.
By now, you’d have realised that the characteristics of a person’s character, can change and be revealed over time. Although there may be strong innate characteristics still prevalent, the weakest ones are sensitive to influences and be altered through varying situations. So, the next time any trainer who insisted that a person’s character cannot change, just smile. Don’t make a principled argument. The world would be a better place for everyone, when we understand and accept other people’s viewpoints, with an open mind; knowing that the trainer’s assumption and findings were based from a perceived, fixed mindset.
Go ahead, but stop revising your plans on what you want to do, after identifying the predictive signs in your charts. Instead, start prioritising your plans, act on it, experiment and adapt, unlearn and relearn, reflect and change. Through regular ACTIONS – practices, experience, and adjustments – your character will change, and you will become a BETTER YOU.
Regards, Ron WZ Sun