I was listening to a book while on my walk this morning. They were discussing character and how some famous psychologist said that it hardens like plaster around the age of 30.
I am glad that I didn't hear this until 53 or I may have backed off from working to develop.
It is easier to change the less history you have and less reinforcements to a particular way of thinking.
A while back I read about a guy that was born with a particular disability and he had it in his head that it was physical disability that led to him having such a sunny outlook. He genuinely loved life even with huge pieces of life that he could never participate in and somehow he tied it together with his very rare disability.
He went out of his way to meet another person with the same problem and was expecting another bright shiny person only to find they they were sad and no fun to be around at all.
That was when he realized that it wasn't his situation but his way of looking at life that caused him to experience joy and fed his outlook.
I remember meeting a man who was a librarian. He told me that for most of his life he was pessimistic until he came across a verse in the book of proverbs.
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15
He realized that his outlook was his and that his outlook would determine his joy and happiness.
He was in his late 60s when I met him and this change happened when he was in his late 30s.
When I spoke with him he had sort of an unusual look to him. It has taken me a long to realize that it was the look of a happy man who held his face in an unhappy manner for decades. Those stressed and sad wrinkles and lines were there but under the skin he smiled; a lot. His skin was still catching up. He was very alive all of the time that I knew him.
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