Personality, Part 2

In a previous post, I wondered whether personality can be overcome.  I doubted that it could.  Reading Seneca's Epistles (aka Letters from a Stoic), I came cross the following in Epistle XI:

That which is implanted, and inborn can be toned down by training, but not overcome.

 And later in the same Epistle:

Whatever is assigned to us by the terms of our birth and the blend of our constitutions, will stick with us, no matter how hard or how long the soul may have tried to master itself.

Seneca seems to have reached the same conclusions.

Switching to a modern scientist, I recommend reading Stephen Pinker's The Blank Slate for much more on this topic.  In fact, I should re-read it.  It's one of those books that makes a powerful argument against some very nice-sounding but in fact harmful ideas on human nature.

Remember, we can't change our personality, nor our faults.  But we can mitigate them, and sometimes to a large degree.  My own personality has shown itself to result in many careless mistakes in my work.  I don't think I can overcome this, but I can be aware of it, and I can control my actions. I've gotten into the habit of forcing myself to double-check my work, which has helped a lot.  Even though I am careless, I have found a way around it as long as I can keep up an artificial carefulness.