Personality Change Is Possible

Around 60 percent of people worldwide say they would like to change something about their personality. This desire is more than just wishful thinking—it reflects a deep human yearning to become better, healthier, and more fulfilled versions of ourselves. It also acknowledges an uncomfortable truth: While we often think of personality as fixed, it might be more malleable than we once believed.

Why Does This Matter?

Because personality is not just a collection of traits—it’s a set of enduring patterns that shape our physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, and even career trajectories. Conscientious people, for example, tend to live longer. Extraverts often experience greater social satisfaction. And people high in neuroticism may be more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. Personality, in other words, matters.

Sigmund Freud once declared that a healthy human life revolves around “lieben und arbeiten”—to love and to work. Personality, in many ways, shapes how successful we are at both. It influences whether we form strong attachments, remain dependable employees, manage conflict well, and stay resilient through stress.

Did Phineas Gage Change?

The story of Phineas Gage, a 19th-century railroad worker who survived a devastating brain injury, is often cited as psychology’s most dramatic case of personality change. After a tamping iron passed through his skull, friends claimed that Gage was “no longer Gage”—reporting that he became impulsive, rude, and unreliable. For many, Gage represents the fragility of personality and its connection to the brain.

But what happened to Gage is not an example of volitional personality change. It was accidental, neurological, and likely traumatic. His transformation—if it occurred as dramatically as often reported—was not chosen, planned, or desired. This is a crucial distinction.

Volitional vs. Unintentional Change

Unintentional personality change often happens as a result of trauma, disease, or major life disruptions. People may emerge from war, abuse, or chronic illness feeling like a different person—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. But in these cases, the change is often imposed upon them.

Volitional personality change, on the other hand, is intentional. It involves self-awareness, goal-setting, and often sustained effort. A shy person may slowly push themselves toward more social engagement. Someone high in neuroticism might practice mindfulness or cognitive behavioral strategies to become calmer and more resilient. Unlike unintentional change, volitional change assumes agency.

What Research Says

A recent meta-analysis of 30 longitudinal studies involving over 7,700 participants offers new insights into the growing field of volitional personality change (VPC). The review distinguished between people who simply had a goal to change and those who participated in structured interventions.

Interestingly, merely wanting to change was only weakly associated with actual personality change. However, interventions designed to support personality change were effective, yielding small-to-moderate effects, with even stronger effects observed at follow-up. These personality shifts were also linked to improvements in well-being, suggesting that change is not only possible but potentially transformative. Although still an emerging area, the findings are encouraging and point to the need for further exploration into what works, for whom, and why.

The Desire to Change

Intentional personality change isn’t about becoming someone else—it’s about becoming more of who we want to be. It often starts with small shifts: choosing to speak up in a meeting, following through on a plan, or taking time to reflect instead of reacting. Over time, these repeated behaviors can solidify into enduring traits.

And while not everyone may want—or need—to change, for those who do, the message from modern psychology is clear: Change is possible. It may not be fast or easy, but with intention and support, we can rewrite our patterns—and, in doing so, reshape our lives.

Conclusion

Personality may not be destiny, but it certainly influences it. With intention, self-awareness, and perseverance, we may be more capable of change than we ever thought.

© Kevin Bennett, Ph.D., 2025