Changing the Personality to Experience More Happiness

30 Nov Changing the Personality to Experience More Happiness

Posted at 07:27h in Uncategorized by
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Most people think personality is fixed and unchangeable.

It is and it isn’t!

Personality as a construct can be defined in different ways and the good news is that how many of us think about personality is amenable to modification.

We can change.

And as a result, we can enjoy more happiness …

via Psychology Today by Carrie Barron

KEY POINTS

  • Evidence-based suggestions for altering one’s personality include changing thoughts to manage anger and cultivating gratitude.
  • Some people need to understand the influence of the past to achieve true personality change.
  • Psychotherapy can lead to corrective emotional experiences and better relationships.

Researchers have addressed whether it is possible to change your personality to become a happier person. The thought is that if you can develop new habits in thought and behavior, you will change. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.”

Actions that can alter your personality

Evidence-based suggestions for altering your personality and paving the way for a greater frequency of happy moments include:

  1. Fake it until you make it.
  2. Change thoughts and manage anger.
  3. Have a “gratitude” attitude.
  4. Do improvisation exercises.
  5. Get outside.
  6. Exercise.
  7. Volunteer.
  8. Sing or dance with a group.
  9. Meditate.
  10. Listen to music.
  11. Spend time in a setting you love.
  12. Have good, solid, abiding relationships.
  13. Have warm, brief moments of connectivity with associates.
  14. Engage in activities you enjoy that create flow.
  15. Watch films.
  16. Make things.
  17. Develop a practice—painting, writing, yoga.
  18. Do a community project.
  19. Get a pet.
  20. Take care of someone else.
  21. Tend a garden.

While these activities are certainly helpful, though, they may not be enough. Some people need a deeper approach to achieve true personality change, which involves understanding the influence of the past. When buried conflicts, fears, memories, and concerns are elucidated, understood, and processed, shifts in personality occur…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE