As has been stated above, people can change. But it is very difficult work. You have to shed who you are as a person, and put effort into becoming someone else. Look at quiting smoking. This is an addiction, but its more than that. Your a smoker, and you are choosing to change who you are. It seems minor, but its not.

I think people change with age, if you continue to grow.

Good joke, sup.

I do believe that people can change but it is rare to see it happen.

I don't believe that we are "hard wired" but that a combination of genetics, early upbringing and environment shape the person we are.

I consider myself a very adaptive person and I have changed over the years (not only careers but some personality traits and habits). However, I know lots of people, family included, who I don't think are capable of change.

actually the line is:

I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way

great one though...

i dont think i changed that much. more like matured.

but i know some real evil folks that changed becaused the almost died. i think more people need to almost die. four or five in my family alone.

I think one need to acknowledge the difference between more or less inherited personality traits - in my book stable over time - and behavior. The latter will naturally be changeable according to will force/need/circumstances/age etc.

This will make a person seemingly changing in the eyes of the beholder, but it does not change the variance of his inborn personality traits.

There is a semantic problem here, making it difficult to know for sure we are actually meaning the same thing in terms of what is changing and what the origin of personality and behavior consists of.

Well,
I guess if I polled this the overwhelming response would be that people don't change (in general) - which pretty much supports my Axioms of Human Condition.

So, prehaps this explains why many couples throw up their hands at a marrage that becomes difficult, after the senuality is gone and they actually see the other person for who they truly are. Why stay with someone if they truly are an arsehole and they are unwilling to change?

SoCal, you and I share the same beliefs about an individual choosing his destiny. Your exemplification was outstanding! I grew up in similar circumstances to you and consciously chose my destiny.

Very thought provoking, David

Okay, presented that way, SoCal's point is easy to take. A far cry from the wailing he did in a previous thread about this same subject.

Clearly, we are powerfully shaped by our heredity and our environment. In fact, those who have an epiphany and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.....may have been predisposed to that action/decision by their heredity and environment. We FEEL as though we're making independent decisions, but our decisions are largely the sum of our heredity and environment. In fact, this attitude is fairly self-serving. You see, this way you get to take personal credit for every good thing that happens to you.

The flip side of the determinist whiner is the determinist grateful. I have the personal feeling that I am lucky beyond measure. I was born to a good family, great genes, lots of wonderful experiences in my life. Good looking, big johnson, smart, funny, humble, all those things. They are GIFTS to me.

I concur. I do not believe that we are so weak minded that we could not change. Key is if you really want to change; staying the same is easy, growing is hard.

I agree with you guys in that people cannot change themselves but they can moderate what their tendencies are.
Having said that, I doe know that God can change a person. I say know instead of believe because I have first-hand experience. Let me clarify that God didn't impose anything upon me. Rather, I invited Jesus into my life and He changed me. Example, before I asked Christ into my life, I would swear like a sailor. I mean, I could cuss the wallpaper off the wall. It just was part of my vocabulary. About a day after I accept Christ, I realized that I just stopped cursing. Not out of some mental decision or willful denial but rather it just wasn't there! I just didn't think of the words anymore. Zap, gone. I wasn't talking with any different people. I wasn't talking about different things. I just didn't think to use those words any more. Its stayed that way for about 24 years. There are a hundred other examples but I'll stop here.
Please let me say that I don't condemn people who use "colorful" words and I am not shocked when I hear them. I just don't use them. Its about time that people realize that a Christian can be a regular guy that chooses to follow God and His Word instead of natural logic.
I really don't care to argue with anyone about what they think. This is my life, my story. Believe it if you like, blow it off if you chose.
Lastly, to avoid starting a major war, I really don't want to answer any arguments or challenges. If someone wants to talk with me about this, feel free to send a PM. There are too many show-boating, grand-standing people who want to attract attention to themselvess by making a statement for or against something (can you say "troll"?).

You're a product of your environment. The more the environment changes the more prone you are to change.

Of course a man can change. In the time it takes him to decide to. It's always his choice.

"Die and become, or be but a dull guest on this planet."

U make it sound so easy....

I once was traveling on the road to Damacus......

if you want I can get you a consult with my psych ;)

Because Jesus saves U, doesn't make you a better person. Your the same old miserable fk, except your forgiven for your transgressions....

And he was probably trained by my friends...

People can change how they live their lives, figure out why they do things and change it, resolve issues and change. Most times it takes a traumatic event for people to make the realization that things are amiss. Personality (for lack of a better term) change is really not possible...for that is the essence of who we are. Whether we like chocolate pudding or vanilla pudding stays the same...

People who go into threapy usually go to resolve some kind of crisis in their lives...a failing marriage, death in the family, illness in the family or self etc.

They usually will stay for 6 months to a couple of years to resolve these issues, they realize that they need help and learn how to sharpen their coping tools...

Then their is a second group of people who once they get over the crisis realize that they want something more...more self knowledge if you will and will embark on what amounts to a life long journey...of self illumination...this process in threapy takes about 7 years.. or you might say one cycle of a mans life...the Bible says man lives 3 score and 10 or 70 years... You might say it takes time to delve through the history of your life and that of your family. ... to think through it....Remeember the Bible says that the sins of the father are visited upon the child. ...

And Master Nostatus does make it sound like a trip down a lazy river....