Personality Isn’t Permanent

“You can change and recreate yourself into the vision you want to become.”
– Dr Benjamin Hardy PhD.

Personality isn’t permanent. For years we have been led to believe that our personalities are fixed and permanent. Much research, observation, science and experience tell us differently.

In his book, Personality Isn’t Permanent, Dr Benjamin Hardy, demonstrates, that our personalities aren’t permanent. To get the full scoop, please read his book. It will be a life-changing read!

Let’s agree that our personalities aren’t permanent for the rest of this article and see where it takes us.

Consciously Working On Developing Our Personality

If our personalities aren’t permanent, this opens up our future to unlimited possibilities. Possibilities for our professional and personal lives.

Who do you want your future self to be? Who would you need to become to achieve your dreams and goals?
Is labelling yourself as an “introvert” stopping you from career advancement?
What limitations have you placed on yourself because you thought your personality was permanent?

How to CONSCIOUSLY create our new future self.

3 Simple Steps To Creating A New Personality A New Future Self

Imagine you are a business professional, planning, to advance to the next level in your career. You believe you are a born introvert. You are under the impression that you have a fixed personality. Only more extroverted people can go to the next level in your profession. Are you feeling trapped between your personality and the job promotion?

In your new role, you must lead others, present and lead meetings, and deliver small educational training to your staff.

There are always solutions in life.

Here are the 3 simple steps you can apply to become more extroverted to qualify for the job promotion in line with your career advancement.

Step 1: Get a clear picture of your new future self:

“All things are created twice; first mentally; then physically;
– Stephen R. Covey (Author of – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

Start writing in your journal, all the qualities, you see yourself demonstrating as your new future self. Confident, energized, extroverted, focused, in control, articulate, excited, empathetic etc…

See yourself in your mind’s eye, eyes closed, delivering a public speaking event standing tall, enjoying every minute of your delivery. Play this scene in your mind first thing in the morning and before going to sleep at night.

This regular visualization will populate the new canvas of the first mental creation of your future self.

Step 2: Apply your new future self to the Dilt’s Logical Levels of Change:

Now we will make 7 lists according to the powerful logical levels of change. This is a fast track to creating rapid, permanent, and lasting change in your life.

• Purpose: What’s your goal (Example; I am a confident, articulate public speaker) Write out your specific goal!
• Identity: How would you show up, what personality traits, do you need to develop based on your purpose and goal? Make a list!
• Values & Beliefs: What values and beliefs would you need to adopt, or let go of, to achieve your purpose and goal? Make a list!
• Capabilities: What skills & capabilities would you need to learn to achieve your purpose and goal? Make a list!
• Behaviors: What behaviors would you need to demonstrate, daily, to achieve your purpose and goal? Make a list!
• Environment: What environments would you need to place yourself in, or remove yourself from, to achieve your purpose and goal? Make a list!

 

Step 3: Take action and practice, practice, practice:

Take immediate action on the lists you just created in step 2. For example, in the logical level of Capabilities, you may have written down that you will attend a public speaking course. Sign up for a public speaking course and build this capability into your personality and future self.

I can remember, at least 10 years ago, I joined the Saigon public speaking group called Toastmasters International. This is one of the places I learned the skill and capability of public speaking. You can check out my video at Saigon Toastmasters HERE. When I still had hair.

My future self 10 years ago is different to my future self today!

Continue to take action on all your lists from step 2. Continue to practice, practice, practice until you become your new desired future self. The future self that now has all the personality traits to match all your professional and personal goals to make them a reality.

Remember, we need to BE before we can HAVE.

When you work on each level of Dilt’s Logical Levels of Change, simultaneously, almost instantly, magic happens in your life.

When we operate in the present moment, from a filter of our future self, we quickly strip away all the noise surrounding our current selves and activities.

What got us here, will not get us there.

To become our future selves we need to be BEING and DOING, differently in the present moment.

Take action in the present moment towards your future self-goals.

2 Powerful Conclusions: Which one will you choose?

Here are 2 powerful conclusions that will take us in two completely different directions.

1) If we believe personality is fixed and permanent, we will dumb down our goals to fit our personality – Disempowering with limited possibilities.

2) If we believe personality isn’t permanent, we will choose big audacious goals (excellent filter) and adjust our personality to match those goals – Empowering with unlimited possibilities.

Which powerful conclusion will you take to heart, and commit to daily action steps, to become the best version of yourself?

What’s one professional and personal goal that you would like to commit to NOW?

Paul Simos is an accomplished Executive Life Coach, Health Coach and Certified Trainer. He has a fundamental belief about his clients which frames how they work together i.e. they already have everything they need to achieve success. His role as a coach is to stimulate and challenge his clients to unlock their successful beliefs, skills, and behavior patterns. LinkedIn.

Resources:

1) Personality Isn’t Permanent. Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story – Dr Benjamin Hardy PhD.
2) Trifecta To A Perfect Yoga Class Video – My public speaking practice – Saigon Toastmaster Public Speaking Group.
3) Complimentary Powerful Coaching Conversation – Short video on coaching and your next step.