Set In Our Ways: Why Change Is So Hard

Inconsistency and selfishness from the “Catch-30” stage turns into rationality and order in the early thirties. This is the “Rooting and Extending” stage where one is known to mature. People lay out their future with settled

In this essay I aim to discuss the different views of each side of this argument and then later conclude as to whether personality is stable or changing across the lifespan.

Finally, adulthood consists of early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Early adulthood is a stage where individuals are physically in their best condition. Memory and thinking abilities are sharp, life decisions are made, and they take on roles of independence. Middle adulthood is when individuals start to reflect on their lives as a whole. Retirement planning and sadness over unaccomplished goals began to surface, during this particular stage. Some physical changes such as hearing and vision start to take place. Focusing more on health, relationships and becoming tolerable with death are all signs of late adulthood development. The immune system, vision, hearing, and muscle strength start to decline. Loss of memory is a cognitive trait that is related

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” Henry David Thoreau stood behind the fact that all change is a miracle that happens in every instant. World travel has the potential to introduce an individual to the various miracles that life has to offer through aspects like culture, scenery, and language. In fact, there is a psychological concept that goes by the name of the “Big Five.” The number five refers to the five most dominant characteristics of personality: openness, extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness and agreeableness. Meeting new people and exposing oneself with new culture is one of is an activity that is one of the main contributors to the openness factor of personality which in turn has a domino effect on the remaining four characteristics (“5 Ways…”). That being said, by travelling the world an individual is able to become more adventurous and well rounded.

So how do we cope with change: Coping with change is difficult, no matter how old you are. The particular challenge for older adults is the sheer number of changes and transitions – including loss of friends, family, your career, your health, and your independence. It is natural to feel those losses, but if that sense of loss is balanced with positive ingredients you have a formula for aging well. Unfortunately, for many, aging brings anxiety and fear instead like, How can I take care of myself? What if I lose my spouse? What is going to happen to my mind? However, many of these fears stem from myths about aging that are exaggerated or simply untrue. The truth is that you are stronger and more resilient than you may think. As you age, there will be periods of both joy and stress. It is important to build your resilience and find healthy ways to cope with challenges. This ability will help you make the most of the good times and keep your perspective when times are tough. (Saisan, Smith, Segal & White, 2010)

After 40, many people begin to look at life differently which they often begin to feel that life really is too short to be stuck in a dead-end or unsatisfying job. In this middle age situation, it is a time in which adults take on new responsibilities at the workplace and therefore, people of this age often feel a need to reappraise previous life structures with an

Peak in 1968 offered a view of personality development during late adulthood. Peak suggested that old age confronts both men and women with three challenges or task which are, ego differentiation versus work role preoccupation, which talks about men and women must redefine their worth in terms of something other than their work role. The ability to see themselves as having multiple dimensions allows individuals to pursue new avenues. As matter of fact, the next stage is body transcendence verses body preoccupation which is when people age and their developed chronic illness and daily body pains. This cause the decrease in health and physical well-being. Many elderly people suffer from pain and physical unease and yet manage to enjoy life like

Life experiences can change a person’s character. Those experiences can make a person better than they used to be, the characters will unlock a new mentality that they thought they never had. Also they better at conquering fears and obstacles. Characters in my novels go through lots of change as the stories progress. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, events change the character’s views and behavior throughout the novels. In the novels The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Treasure Island, the main characters in the stories go through a change of personality from their adventures and journeys, encounters with obstacles and antagonists, and the completion of their trials.

In the TED Talk “Why 30 is not the new 20” Meg Jay discussed with her audience concerning the new trend of blowing off your 20’s and leaving everything that they could have done so in that decade to their 30’s. Jay soon after emphasizes how such a trend should not be followed and in the contrary have their 20’s be the years in which an individual begins to build the life they want to live.

In adulthood, mood swings still occur quite often due to physical changes in our bodies still occurring. This can lead to a period of high and lows for our emotions. Plus, family and relationships can decline as children leave home and begins a life of their own or as they start their own little family or perhaps they have a new career with lots of working time, allowing them not to be as free as often. Divorce rates are often higher at this age than early adulthood, which, can be upsetting for certain people, which afterwards, can lead to individuals feeling lonely or lost without protection. Also, friendships are with people with more similar interests, lifestyles and

Travelling is important as it can remove the unintended prejudice that individuals carry out rashly. Sometimes, people unconsciously treat others differently solely based on their own beliefs. Since their judgement is based only on opinion, therefore it may be inaccurate to use when addressing the persons around them. However, exploring the world may lessen your tendency to be prejudice as you will gain detailed insights to the way others think, the way others see, and the way others live. Thus, this will allow you to not make foolhardy assumptions when being in contact with a society or community as you will be more knowledgeable to understand why they are the way they are. Removing prejudice from our lifestyle is very important to us as open-thinkers as we often make many mistakes in the treatment of other human beings. Prejudice is an undesirable trait to possess because

Middle-aged adults experience change in many different areas of their life at this time, they will find that not only their health is changing, but their appearance, their family, their thinking, and their emotions are changes as well. When discussing people that fall into the middle adulthood age of life, the term “midlife crisis” is often used, but according to an article titled Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, “most people during middle adulthood are satisfied and pleased with their lives”, ("Physical Changes," 2008-2013, expression 1). This article also states that the age range for middle adulthood is approximately age thirty-five to sixty-four. Midlife crisis is a when an individual views themselves and are unhappy with

Analyses shows that personality changes throughout life as different personality traits are used and forgotten. The results are generalized and don’t always apply to people but typically the results are correct.

After working for 3 years, I was burnt out at work and wanted to rediscover myself and I could only think of travelling. But I always had this feeling that something is wrong. Neither I’d the money nor intention of wanderlust. I was just lost or maybe I want freedom of expression without being ending up in jail. I don’t know it yet. But one thing was sure and that was: I want to experience the world through the eyes of others. Living the lives of others or living with them provides you a window to enter their lives. I have always believed that travel breaks you free. My mind was conditioned to travel. I had changed almost a dozen schools by the time I completed my graduation. Oh boy!

The age an individual feels is related to changes in characteristic ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving over time. As people aged, they become more mature and they approach thing differently and that in a way has effects their personality either positively or negatively. The aim of the study was to find out if age difference has anything to do with personality change.