Janese Johnson

What makes oneís personality ó and can it be changed?

These questions have been carefully thought about for quite some time.

And there are quite a few theories about how our personality is formed. Very few of them support the idea that we are original and unique.

And if we do think that we are, then there are many tests that can have us narrowed down to be in one of 16 categories. According to these tests, the result of the test reveals our personality, the one we have had and will always have.

So if we are really that bound to how we present ourselves to the world and what makes us different than one another, can we do anything about the personality traits that we donít particularly like?
I recently watched a documentary titled ìUnknown White Maleî that has challenged those beliefs. The story is about 35-year-old Douglas Bruce, who one day in 2003 found that he didnít know who he was or where he lived.

He ended up walking into a police station and asked for help because he did not have any identity on him, and he didnít know where to go.

His case of amnesia is very rare, and it has researchers intrigued because with his memory loss, he has created a whole new personality that is quite different than the one he had beforehand.

This might show that maybe it isnít our memories that create our personality, maybe it isnít the memories themselves that affect us, but how we relate to our personal life experiences that affect and solidify our personality.

If this is so, then we do have a lot more control over our personalities than what is usually assumed.
Before Douglas Bruce lost his memory he was known to be arrogant, edgy, and the typical type-A personality. He was very wealthy because of some investments, and retired in his 30s in order to go to photography school. He was single and not particularly connected to other people in any authentic way. His life seemed outwardly really charming, but inwardly quite miserable.

Since his retrograde amnesia, he has become quite playful, imaginative, spontaneous, lovable and honest. He loves his life, and all the newness the world brings every day. This radical change has quite a few people wondering about and questioning the legitimacy of his experience.

Critics feel that he is making this up. Friends and family feel that since he is so different than he was before, there is no way he could be making this up.

Most psychology theorists would agree that there is no way that he can change that drastic and consistently for years now unless something in the biological makeup affected it.

If the way we view our memories affect our personality than we can work on changing that. Over the years, I have had the great opportunity to work on changing my view of my childhood story. I found that the more that I saw the beauty even in the most painful situations; I found that something more beautiful from within me would come out in more of my personality.

I think that we all have an inner spark that enjoys life, and sees the beauty in all beings. But when difficult situations arise, we resort to what we learned works for us, and that comes out in personality. Yes, we respond all differently, and we all have a compassionate, inquisitive, and loving nature that gets buried beneath ìourî story.†

I believe that Douglas Bruceís old personality that everyone remembers him as was his way of relating to his emotional memories, and when he forgot what those were, he resorted more to his natural self.†