“we can stretch our personalities, but only up to a point. Our inborn temperaments influence us, regardless of the lives we lead. A sizable part of who we are is ordained by our genes, by our brains, by our nervous systems. And yet the elasticity that Schwartz found in some of the high-reactive teens also suggests the converse: we have free will and can use it to shape our personalities.
These seem like contradictory principles, but they are not. Free will can take us far, suggests Dr. Schwartz’s research, but it cannot carry us infinitely beyond our genetic limits. Bill Gates is never going to be Bill Clinton, no matter how he polishes his social skills, and Bill Clinton can never be Bill Gates, no matter how much time he spends alone with a computer.
We might call this the “rubber band theory” of personality. We are like rubber bands at rest. We are elastic and can stretch ourselves, but only so much.”
― Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
These seem like contradictory principles, but they are not. Free will can take us far, suggests Dr. Schwartz’s research, but it cannot carry us infinitely beyond our genetic limits. Bill Gates is never going to be Bill Clinton, no matter how he polishes his social skills, and Bill Clinton can never be Bill Gates, no matter how much time he spends alone with a computer.
We might call this the “rubber band theory” of personality. We are like rubber bands at rest. We are elastic and can stretch ourselves, but only so much.”
― Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”
― The Light in the Heart
― The Light in the Heart
“If you strip away all the trappings of personality and lifestyle, what are the core components that make me me?”
― Dark Matter
― Dark Matter
“If you love a flower, don’t pick it up.
Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love.
So if you love a flower, let it be.
Love is not about possession.
Love is about appreciation.”
―
Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love.
So if you love a flower, let it be.
Love is not about possession.
Love is about appreciation.”
―
“Writing is nature's way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is.”
― Guindon: Michigan So Far
― Guindon: Michigan So Far
Wessim’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Wessim’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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