The Science of Changing Your Personality & What Really Happens to Your Trash
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What common traits do lucky people have?
Why is it that some people are just luckier than others? That's the topic we're starting this episode with today. Hi and welcome to Something You Should Know. How lucky you are probably depends in large part on how you define luck. But we know that people who consider themselves lucky do have some interesting characteristics. Anxious people tend to be more unlucky. In one study, people were asked to read a newspaper. Some of the people identified themselves as lucky, while others said they were unlucky. On one half page of the newspaper, it said in large letters, Tell the experimenter you've seen this and win $300. The people who said they were lucky were more likely to have seen that, while the unlucky people seemed to demonstrate more anxiety, which detracted from their powers of observation, which made them less likely to see that. Serendipity seems to matter a lot. Chance meetings with strangers and old friends increase the likelihood that good things will happen.
So you have to put yourself in situations where those encounters are more likely to occur. People who do tend to be luckier. Attitude helps too. A positive go-getter attitude is more likely the attitude of a lucky person. And even lucky charms seem to work. Why? because people believe they do. And that is something you should know. I would imagine, if you thought about it for a moment, I would imagine there are at least parts of your personality you would change if you could. Maybe you've thought, I wish I could be more like that person. You know, more outgoing or less critical or whatever it is. But you probably think that changing your personality seems almost impossible. You are who you are and you can't change it a whole lot. Or can you? Maybe you can, according to my guest, Olga Kazan. She is a staff writer for The Atlantic, and she has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. She's author of a book called Me But Better, The Science and Promise of Personality Change. Hi, Olga. Welcome to Something You Should Know.
Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
So changing your personality or parts of your personality seems daunting because I believe, and I think most people believe, your personality is your personality. And yes, you can change it a little bit, and it probably changes by itself over time. But ultimately, you are who you are, and that's it. That's who you are.
Yeah, that's one theory, and that was a prominent theory about personality several decades ago. William James famously said it was set like plaster by the age of 30. But actually, newer research has shown that it is possible to change your personality. You do have to really work at it. It's not just something you can snap your fingers and make happen.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What common traits do lucky people have?
1:45–4:57
2
Can you really change your personality?
4:57–7:41
3
What are the five traits of personality?
7:41–13:51
4
How can introverts become more extroverted?
13:51–25:26
5
Does personality change over a lifetime?
25:26–29:49
6
What factors influence personality development?
29:49–34:22
7
How successful are people at changing their personality?
34:22–45:15
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