Can you change your personality? Making changes to your life could help you improve your personality and become the person you want to be.
There are plenty of reasons you might want to change your personality. Maybe you want to be more confident, sociable, or proactive. Or maybe you want to be a better person for your family and friends. Whatever your reasons, it is possible to make positive changes to your personality.
If you want to improve your personality, you need to start by deciding how you want to change. Self-reflection will help you set goals and understand your values. You can then begin to take action, planning how to start fulfilling your goals by making changes in your life.
Your personality can be changed if you commit to doing it. As you alter your behaviour, the way you think and feel about things can start to change too. For example, if you start getting up earlier in the morning, you can find yourself beginning to enjoy mornings more. You might not be a morning person now, but you could be if you’re committed to changing.
Improving your personality can have lots of amazing benefits. As your personality changes for the better, you might find it easier to make and maintain friendships. People around you can respond to you more positively. You could find that you start to make steps in your career or achieve things in other parts of your life. You can make your life what you want it to be when you work on improving your personality.
Read our guide to improving your personality to start making positive changes today.
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Can you change your personality or is it a permanent part of who you are? Feelings of not liking yourself, or realising that perhaps others don’t find you very personable, might have you asking this question. If you don’t think your personality is what it should be, is it possible to improve and grow?
This article will show you how improving your personality is achievable through personal development. There may be some things about you that are difficult to change, but you can choose to work on your personality and your approach to life.
By taking on board these effective tips, you can start to change your personality for the better.
Contents
- Personality traits and what affects them
- How do you want to change?
- Change your routine
- Have a positive mindset
- Pay attention to others
- Expand your worldview
- Be kind
- Leave your comfort zone
- Practise self-care
1. Recognise that many things can affect your personality
There are various theories on how a person’s personality develops. From Freud to Kohlberg, some big thinkers have pondered how personalities develop, different stages of development, and whether it’s possible to change your personality.
Every theory has different ideas about how a personality develops and which factors matter. But one thing we can take away from all of them is that there are multiple influences on the development of a personality. There are also different ways we can continue to develop our personalities and make positive changes.
We can think about the “Big Five” personality traits, which are some of the key factors that make up what we are. These are:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
These things might be influenced by our genetics or the way we’re raised. But we can also choose to actively work on them and change them.
2. Think about how you want to change
Now that you know it’s possible to improve your personality, you need to think about how you want to do that. A good place to start is by honestly assessing your current personality traits.
Reflecting on who you are and being self-aware allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to be honest, but also to avoid being overly critical of yourself. You can then think about your values, who you want to be, and what you want to contribute to the world.
Once you’ve thought about an overall goal, you can set actual achievable goals. Perhaps there’s something specific you want to achieve. Maybe you want to make some new friends, be capable of public speaking, or be more committed to healthy living.
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3. Plan changes to your routine
Changing your daily routine could be the key to changing your personality for the better. Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Christian Jarrett says “we can shape our circumstances so they work for, not against, us”.
Planning changes to your routine and setting daily goals for yourself can help you change your personality in the way you wish to. A study at the University of Sheffield found that those who committed to choosing activities that were good for them were more likely to experience positive emotions.
This “situation-selection strategy” can be the key to making the changes you want. You don’t have to start with big changes. Even small alterations to your routine, such as choosing to go to bed earlier, could have a big impact on how you feel and your approach to the everyday.
4. Develop a positive mindset
A positive mindset is a must if you want to improve your personality. Recognising that your personality isn’t set in stone and that there are opportunities for you to grow allows you to keep an open mind.
Even if you have a setback or find something challenging, you can view it as a chance to experience growth. It takes time to change yourself, especially when you’re working on an aspect of your personality that has existed for a long time. You should be prepared to stay positive and believe in your ability to change.
5. Pay attention to others
Observing those around you and giving them your attention can help you improve your personality. Many of us take the power of listening for granted, but listening to other people can help us grow ourselves.
Good listeners do more than just stay silent and avoid interruptions when someone else is talking. They also make an effort to create a positive experience for the other party, building their self-esteem. Contributing to the conversation and creating a cooperative conversation are helpful too.
6. Expand your worldview
Being able to see things from different perspectives can be important if you want to change and improve your personality. If your view of the world and how things work is narrow and insular, it’s hard to relate to others and consider different approaches to life.
There are plenty of ways to expand your worldview and explore the person you want to be. Reading more is one example, whether you choose to read fiction or nonfiction. Meeting a range of people from different backgrounds is another choice that could help you gain more experience.
You can also expand your interests, looking for new things that interest you. This could be an opportunity to learn something new. You might meet new people or simply discover something previously undiscovered about yourself and what you enjoy.
7. Aim to be kinder
Making an effort to be kind and helpful can help you improve your personality. It can give your mood a boost and even help to reduce the symptoms of depression and lower high blood pressure. Being kind can make us happier, which in turn makes us better people to be around.
When you choose to go out of your way to help people, perhaps with some volunteering, you can meet new people and learn new skills. Or you can focus on using your existing skills to help others. Focusing on being kind can allow you to think about what you want from life and how you can give and receive.
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8. Step outside your comfort zone
If you want to improve your personality, you need to be able to step outside of your comfort zone. It’s not always easy to find the confidence to do this, but it’s crucial if you want to make meaningful changes.
You don’t have to throw yourself into an extremely uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation right away. There are smaller ways to step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself to do new things.
9. Practice self-care
You might wish to work on yourself and improve your personality. However, you should keep in mind that it’s difficult to give your all if you’re not taking care of yourself. You need to have the physical and mental energy to work on yourself and do the things you want to do.
Self-care is a vital part of working on yourself and growing your personality. Just as it’s important that you’re making these changes for yourself, and not just for the benefit of others, it also matters that you do things that are just for you. This could range from taking yourself out on a “date” to having a few minutes of quiet reflection every day.
Improve your personality in small steps
The main thing to remember if you want to improve your personality is that it won’t happen in a day. There’s no quick switch that will change who you are or how you approach life. You need to be prepared to work on yourself to reach your goals. You can affect your personality by starting with your actions. Change the things you do and how you behave, and your personality can start to change too.