Personality
Personality is a relatively persistent pattern of traits, emotions, motivations and behaviors that influence the way a person functions.
Definition
Personality includes characteristic ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. It is relatively stable, but not absolutely immutable: experiences, relationships, roles and conscious work can influence the way traits are expressed. In practice, it helps to understand tendencies, not to make final judgments about a person.
Key ideas
- Relative stability
- Features and patterns
- Possibility of adaptation
Practice and life
Describe three of your own repetitive tendencies: how they help, when they hinder you, and how you can regulate them in important situations.
Common misconceptions
It is a mistake to treat personality as an excuse for any behavior. The second mistake is to consider a personality test to be a complete description of a person.
> Personality gives direction to reactions, and reactions strengthen personality, so working on reactions inadvertently helps to change personality.
> — Guru Element
Questions for self-reflection
- What qualities of mine are a resource?
- When does the same feature become a cost?
- How can I use my tendencies more consciously?