Are you the same person you were a decade ago? Do we get better as we age? And is your sixth-grade class clown still funny?
Science needs rebranding.
I'm Angela Duckworth.
I'm Mike Mann, and you're listening to.
No stupid questions today on the show, how fixed is personality?
I take comfort in knowing that I am just like everyone else in deluding myself.
Angela, today we have a fascinating question about how fixed personality is.
Mike, you and I have been talking about personality so much lately.
I know, mostly because I think I need a better one.
No, but you know what?
I think a lot of us feel that way.
Okay, well, let me read you this question from Joshua Curtis.
Hi, Mike and Angela.
I often wonder how fixed personality is.
I feel that while my personality has definite patterns, how pronounced those patterns are can vary given the environment that I'm in.
This seems to be true both in the short term.
For example, I have different personality at work than at home, but also true in the longer term.
My personality is definitely different now that I'm in my late thirties compared to when I was in college.
This makes me wonder if personality tests should not be used to tell us about fixed traits that we have, but rather as tools for working to become closer to the people we would like to be.
Are there things we can do to intentionally change our personalities?
Thanks, Joshua Curtis.