"Who Am I?" brings back memories of a 1998 Jackie Chan movie who lost his memory in a helicopter crash. Is that what defines who a person is? Memories and experiences? Dictionary.com defines personality as the sum total of the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual, or the organized pattern of behavioral characteristics of the individual.
So the question here is, are the physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics of an individual defined since birth or are they a sum of events and experiences throughout that individuals life? Is there an original set of characteristics and behaviours that we fall back to or was that defined during childhood?
I believe our current characteristics and behaviours, our personality, is a direct consequence of the decisions and reactions that we have made in the past toward various events that have occured, be it directly affecting us or indirectly. These events range from simple epiphanies or big news such as Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. Events that get us thinking and convict us to change the way we live. For example in reference to Japan's earthquake disaster; to appreciate the land we live in and the people around us more, to be more charitable or to simply stop wasting our lives away and do something productive while we still can.
I've had friends who were afraid of change, or rather, the reason for the change. They do not want to change just because others have labeled them as such and such. If you change because you want to change the labels that people put on you, is that change good? Let's say some people label you as 'fat'. This makes you want to develop a healthy diet and active lifestyle to get into shape. Is this change good? Another example. People label you as a sarcastic @#$**. You start to realise how hurtful your comments are to others and decide to do something about it. This changes your personality. It changes your characteristic and behaviour. Does this mean you're changing who you really are and you're giving in to the expectations of the world? Are you losing your identity?
I believe not. One of my friends, Matt(not real name) once said:"If you met me 5 years ago, you would've met a completely different person." The 5 years ago version of Matt was a person who has gone through less 5 years of challenges and lessons in life, less 5 years of learnings and experiences and less 5 years of thought. Is that person 5 years ago Matt? Is the person I know today still Matt? The answer is yes, however, the latter Matt has gone through more than the former and I believe is a better person.
However, change does not always happen for the better. It can be a change for the worse. Some people give up easily when facing the challenges of life and slip into depression and self-pity resulting in addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex and other indulgences. This is because they have chosen to react that way. If they had chosen to react positively, to be calm and collected and taken appropriate steps to build their life back, we would see a different person - a person who changed for the better, not for the worse.
How we react to problems and issues and how we decide to live as a consequence of that is what defines our personality. It is what defines our character. It is what defines me.
I took a personality test online recently. I found that my results were different from the results of another test I took a few years back. I reckon this is a result of my learnings and my reactions toward events in my life. The test was a Jung Typology Test™ and my results were INTJ.
Qualitative analysis of your type formula
You are:
moderately expressed introvert
very expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed thinking personality
moderately expressed judging personality
For more information on my test results:
http://typelogic.com/intj.html
http://keirsey.com/4temps/mastermind.asp
I'm Giving Up
Giving up my life to the One who first gave it to me. You see, life becomes really hard at some point, especially when you're searching for the meaning of your existence, your purpose in life. Do you live for your A's? Do you live for that promotion you long for? Do you live for that special person you're hoping to find? Even as Christians, are your living to be the best most accurate prophet? The one who does the most good works? The one who sacrifices his time for others so he can be hailed as a great friend, a hero?
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:
"1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
According to the passage, any good work, sacrifice, knowledge, wisdom is pointless without love. Are you hoping to be humanitarian of the year? Or are you really just sharing God's love? There's a fine line.
At some point, you'll find that happiness can be fake, love can be a charade, fun temporary, health plays tricks on you and wealth becomes something you despise. Human nature causes this. Selfishness, self-righteousness pride, deceit, impatience, envy, jealousy, unkindness, self-pity. All these ultimately leads to hatred when uncontrolled. Hatred, the ultimate tool to destroy relationships, create enemies and cause the most devastating wars in the history of mankind. What is man's answer to all these? The natural reaction to hatred is hatred. The catalyst of all war. People with good hearts/intentions try to hide their hatred under their skin and put on a mask outside, pretending to be okay. People without good hearts/intentions answer with outright hatred, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
The rest of 1 Corinthians 13 says this:
"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Love is all we need. If we have love, there will be no selfishness, self-righteousness, pride, deceit, impatience, envy, jealousy, unkindness, self-pity. Love conquers all. It was God's love for us that compelled Him to give us His Son, who gave His life for our sins. It is love that gives peace, joy, hope, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Like verse 13 says, the love is the greatest. My purpose in life is to love. What's yours?
