Why Do We Become Different People Over Time?
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Personality isn’t set in stone. Throughout what feels like a single lifetime, many of us feel that we’ve reinvented ourselves - or at least, that the same self from years ago would barely recognize who we’ve become. Modern psychology confirms this subjective experience: while some core parts of our identity stay consistent, the rise and fall of circumstances, values, and emotions can transform how we think, act, and feel. 1. The Dual Nature of Identity: Stability & Change Genetics accounts for roughly 40-60% of what makes us “us” , with the rest shaped by environment, experiences, and choices. Big Five personality trait studies show rank-order stability (who is more extroverted than whom) remains fairly constant into adulthood (correlations r ≈ .66-.80), but mean-level changes (how extroverted we are on average) happen steadily across the lifespan. Generally, as peo...