Every
personality type has its strengths and weaknesses – there is no ideal type just
like there are no ideal humans walking on this planet. That being said, it is
almost inevitable that at some point in life you will say “I wish I had a
different personality”. You may want to become more outgoing, more in tune with
your senses, more organized, more resistant to criticism etc. Not surprisingly,
one of the most frequent questions people interested in personal development
ask is “Can I change my personality type?”.
Unfortunately, the answer is not that
simple. According to most personality type theories, the individual’s type is
inborn and does not change. However, individuals can develop traits and habits
that differ or even directly contradict the description of their type. How does
that happen?
Let’s use an example. Imagine that
lights in your flat suddenly go off and you are in complete darkness. You may
be able to navigate your way to the door, but what senses are you going to use?
Touch? Hearing? Smell? It would be anything but vision, your preferred sense.
However, as soon as the lights come back on, you will switch back to using
vision again as it makes it much easier to navigate around the flat.
The way your personality works is
very similar. The environment you are in shapes your personality in a certain
way, forcing you to develop traits and habits that might be foreign to your
type. For instance, if you are naturally casual and spontaneous (Prospecting),
but your work schedule is very structured and your manager is obsessive about
schedules, your preferences are likely to change. However, you will probably
switch back to being a Prospecting individual as soon as you leave that job.
The same rule applies to other traits as well.
We should probably mention one more
thing. Sociability is often confused with Extraversion, just like shyness is
confused with Introversion – this is one of the most common mistakes when it
comes to discussing personality types. While Extraverted individuals naturally
find it easier to talk to other people (they gain energy when they do this),
there are many shy or solitary people among them. Conversely, Introverted types
lose energy when they communicate with others, but you would be able to find
many eloquent individuals in that group.
In fact, certain Introverted types are
often more sociable than most Extraverted types. In Western societies,
Extraverted individuals outnumber Introverted ones by a large margin and
consequently most people believe that everyone should strive to be outgoing,
confident, have a large circle of friends etc. This is a misguided belief as
every personality type is unique and has different strengths – yet this is
often the reason behind the “Can I change my personality type?” question.
To conclude, your basic personality
type cannot change – however, you can (and should!) change the aspects of your
personality that you are unhappy with. By doing this you will strengthen your
shadow traits and become a more well-rounded individual, even though your
dominant traits will still remain the same. Such a change could be triggered by
either the environment you are in or your own will – to each his own.
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