Does your personality change over time?
Your underlying personality is a driving force behind a lot of your behaviour – how you work, how you connect with others, how you deal with situations, how you lead and influence, and so much more.
One question we often get asked is… Does your personality change over time?
This is a super interesting question that comes up all the time – and also one that has no clear or simple answer.
There are a lot of different perspectives on this, and the truth is, there actually are not any straight-forward answers. Because what we are talking about is understanding how the brain works – which we still really don’t understand very much yet.
Spoiler alert – the general thinking is that your personality DOES NOT change a lot over time.
But, rather than trying to understand whether your personality changes over time, today we’ll share a couple of existing ideas around this, and what it may mean for you.
What may be more interesting to think about is whether your personality presents differently over time, in different moments, in different situations, rather than your personality itself changing.
Get in touch to find out more… we love talking about this stuff! Or Book a Demo today to see how easy it is to start using TALY in your business.
Let’s focus – we’re just talking about personality.
There is so much that drives what we do.
Our personality plays a huge part in this, but so do our attitudes, values, experiences, skills, relationships, habits, energy, self-respect, well-being, survival instincts, and so much more.
So when we are talking about personality, we are referring to…
Personality can of course cover a much broader topic, but the important point here is that we are talking about these core, deep, underlying traits that sit deep inside us.
How is personality formed?
The general consensus today is that a large part of the core, underlying traits that sit inside all of us and mostly formed through genetics and early childhood.
In fact, through a wide range of studies on things like temperament and with twins – even ones raised separately – found that up to perhaps 60%-70% of personality-based attributes are linked to genetics.
Early childhood also plays a significant factor, including elements such as education, culture, community, geography and more.
So, when it comes down to it, a lot of who we are and what makes us tick deep down is set from an early age.
This is why at TALY we never say there are good or bad personalities, or try to pigeon-hole people – it’s just about understanding and communication.
Does your personality change over time?
Again, generally speaking, from early adulthood through to retirement age (60+), your personality does not change much.
As mentioned, a lot of your underlying personality is linked to your genetics – and even simply the shape of your brain!
As you go through childhood – until your brain is fully developed in your mid to late 20s – the range of life experiences you have will help to round out the picture. And then it’s pretty locked in.
But hang on, if it’s consistent, why do I act differently in different situations?
This is where it gets really interesting. What we’re talking about is your underlying personality traits. You, as a fully developed, well-rounded human, then get the opportunity of managing and bringing this personality to life however you want to!
For example, just because you have a certain personality skew, it doesn’t mean you will always act that way, or that you can’t manage it to your benefit in different ways, or that you can’t build habits around you that build positive outcomes.
One thing we do know though… if you align what you do, your work, how you live your life, with your underlying personality, you will naturally feel more aligned, at ease and energised.
Extroverts get energy from the world around them, introverts build their energy from within – and for each of these groups, the opposite drains their energy!
The below illustration outlines a few of the layers that sit between your underlying personality and the way it is presented to the world at any given moment. Complex right!
In each moment, before your personality plays a role, it needs to navigate it’s way through…
1. Your mindset.
How you are feeling on the day. Tired, angry, energised, all of the possible emotions. Have you had a tough morning, was traffic terrible, did the kids drive you mad!? Or make you happy! All of these feelings put a layer over our personality traits
2. The situation.
What’s going on at the time. Are you lazing on the beach with a loved one, or presenting your budget submission to the Board? The complexity of situational, professional and social structures adds another tricky layer.
And beyond this, you also have your habits, learned behaviours, bias and many more factors that also sit over your personality.
What does this all mean?
At the end of the day, understanding that your personality is what it is can be a great starting point.
Getting quality, valid data on your personality helps to set the scene for a great level of self-awareness, and reflecting back on this when you find yourself in different situations, connecting with different people, ‘acting’ differently, can be super helpful to start to really unpick what works for you and what doesn’t.
By being clear on who we are, and being clear on those around us, we can take a massive leap forward in being our true selves.
If you want to find out more about leveraging the broad impacts that personality profiling can bring to your business, get in touch today and be sure to follow TALY Australia on LinkedIn.
The TALY approach to personality profiling brings together a unique mix of Five Factor and Emotional Intelligence profiling to help organisations, hiring managers and teams to make better decisions about recruitment and teams.
Get in touch to find out more… we love talking about this stuff! Or Book a Demo today to see how easy it is to start using TALY in your business.