Poll: Can people change?
- Thread starter Jape Corbel
- Start date
I think some people can and other can't/don't want to. Without the dedication or drive to change the change itself is meaning less. Also people can always change for the worse since, you know, change is a two-way street.
Yes and no, somethings you can easily change and most people do, and other things are very unlikely change. However it all comes down to the individual, everyone can change but not everyone has the determination (or can be bothered to). So yes people can change but that doesn't mean they will.
There is evidence that people can change all over the place, but some people just don't want to change.
There is evidence that people can change all over the place, but some people just don't want to change.
I've changed loads.
When I was younger I was geeky etc, then when I was 14-18 I lived a very weird rock and roll life of drugs, sex and parties, then I make the decision to stop doing that in university, and while I may have gone back to being a lot more focused on the geeky things I loved, I also had a lot more self-confidence, and still played the guitar/acted like I had done during the crazy years.
I think changing yourself is often about finding friends who make you realise who you are. Before I met my first band I didn't know that I had the potential to be that guy who was confident and outgoing and fun to be around, and while we may have taken it a little too far I was still able to keep what I learned from being around them afterwards.
When I was younger I was geeky etc, then when I was 14-18 I lived a very weird rock and roll life of drugs, sex and parties, then I make the decision to stop doing that in university, and while I may have gone back to being a lot more focused on the geeky things I loved, I also had a lot more self-confidence, and still played the guitar/acted like I had done during the crazy years.
I think changing yourself is often about finding friends who make you realise who you are. Before I met my first band I didn't know that I had the potential to be that guy who was confident and outgoing and fun to be around, and while we may have taken it a little too far I was still able to keep what I learned from being around them afterwards.
yeah people change all the time after all everyone gets born grows up and dies you continue learning throughout life your experiences shape you into who you are people constantly change its impossible not to.
However I guess you are asking more as in a way can the leopard change his spots in which case I will still say yes but people have lots of layers to them as well as being individually different some will seek change others will actively try and avoid it, if someone truly wishes to change they almost certainly can.
As for changing in beliefs or whatever it all depends on how deep they hold certain beliefs to themselves if they dont really care it may change very frequently maybe even a few times a day if its a bit deeper it may change once a week and so on until you get the things that are close to what they define as core to their being which will likely never change more than once or twice in a lifetime max.
However I guess you are asking more as in a way can the leopard change his spots in which case I will still say yes but people have lots of layers to them as well as being individually different some will seek change others will actively try and avoid it, if someone truly wishes to change they almost certainly can.
As for changing in beliefs or whatever it all depends on how deep they hold certain beliefs to themselves if they dont really care it may change very frequently maybe even a few times a day if its a bit deeper it may change once a week and so on until you get the things that are close to what they define as core to their being which will likely never change more than once or twice in a lifetime max.
No. People never change. They learn new things and adapt accordingly, they grow.
But their pattern of reasoning, their mindset, their way of interpreting the way they observe the world around them never changes.
But their pattern of reasoning, their mindset, their way of interpreting the way they observe the world around them never changes.
I don't know much about this, but I'll contribute what I can.
Carol Dweck presents an interesting case of a 'growth' versus 'fixed' mindset. The idea is, that people with a fixed mindset believe they cannot change, that they are born with the talent they have and that is that. Generally, they shy away from challenges where they are required to prove their worth. People with a growth mindset believe that with hard work they can change themselves, for example becoming good at music, sports, or having an intellectual discussion with people.
Which one are you?
Carol Dweck presents an interesting case of a 'growth' versus 'fixed' mindset. The idea is, that people with a fixed mindset believe they cannot change, that they are born with the talent they have and that is that. Generally, they shy away from challenges where they are required to prove their worth. People with a growth mindset believe that with hard work they can change themselves, for example becoming good at music, sports, or having an intellectual discussion with people.
Which one are you?
Like most things, it varies from person to person. But the longer somebody stays a particular way, the more difficult it becomes to change, and the more likely they are to lapse back into their previous life-style.
So, I'm like the Doctor?Jape Corbel said:
...
But, yeah. I change my tastes in things a lot. When it comes to gaming, sometimes I just want to sit down and play a mindless shooter and sometimes I want to hear an engaging story. In music, sometimes I want to listen to a love ballad, maybe a heavy metal song or I just want to ruin my ears with some loud *insert prefix here*-step.
Right now I'm in a phase of BioWare RPGs, dubstep and The Mentalist. Tomorrow I might develop the urge to play CoD, listen to Rammstein and watch My Little Pony for a few weeks.
EDIT - I feel I may have missed the point of the question. Was it meant to be "can people change personality-wise"?
If so, then again, yes. In high school and for a few years after, I was a very quiet reserved person, but now, for no particular reason, I'm more out going. I don't stay inside as much as I used to (but still do a lot) and I'm more willing to start a conversation rather than just participate in one.
Yes people can change. They can change quite drastically. Personally I am very different from what I was like as a child with the shift occurring shortly after puberty. Ironically as I child I was fairly aggressive, outgoing, and hyperactive. Between the ages of 12-14 I became very passive, reserved, and mellow. I maintained most of the same interests, general values and so forth, but my behavior has altered dramatically.
Outside myself I would point to the development of mental illness. These quite dramatically change people, and while extreme serve as proof that people can "change". There is no reason to believe that it can't happen on a less dramatic scale, or in a fashion that is still within the confines of functional behavior.
Also there are the "willing to change myself" cases. Where people don't like their current behavior/tendancies and actively work to change them to something more desirable. I would argue that this isn't really a fundamental change in the person but rather a change in how they express themselves. The person would already value the traits they are working for above those they are trying to remove (or not value the ones they are trying to remove) and thus it isn't a change in their character. For example giving up partying/smoking/drugs in favor of studying and working towards a career isn't a change in who you are, but merely two opposing expressions of who you are.
Outside myself I would point to the development of mental illness. These quite dramatically change people, and while extreme serve as proof that people can "change". There is no reason to believe that it can't happen on a less dramatic scale, or in a fashion that is still within the confines of functional behavior.
Also there are the "willing to change myself" cases. Where people don't like their current behavior/tendancies and actively work to change them to something more desirable. I would argue that this isn't really a fundamental change in the person but rather a change in how they express themselves. The person would already value the traits they are working for above those they are trying to remove (or not value the ones they are trying to remove) and thus it isn't a change in their character. For example giving up partying/smoking/drugs in favor of studying and working towards a career isn't a change in who you are, but merely two opposing expressions of who you are.
Of course they do! People are changing all the time as they gain knowledge and general life experience. I'm a counselor so you could almost say its my job to help people change for the better.
"Change themselves" suggests the involvement of the will. Only buddhists and crazy people believe that shit. There's no such thing as a person unless you're referring to the physical body, which changes all the time - it has exchanged millions of molecules in the time I took to post this. What we call the personality is no different, since it has a chemical basis. So a person becomes a different thing one second to the next and is not a continuous entity.
Yes. I've changed a huge amount even since my late teens. I'm more confident, more tolerant, more spiritual, and far more organised!