Everyone has a fascinating range of unique traits, but contemporary research in psychology has proven that there are actually just four key elements that determine how our personalities develop.
While it’s widely thought that the four elements develop between the ages of 2 and 6, knowledge of how they evolved for you can tell you a lot about the personal work you may need to do as an adult.
These same four elements have a huge impact on how well you progress with the Law of Attraction, and understanding their role in your life can help you see where your current obstacles (and unique gifts) may be.
Let’s take a look at each in turn.
But first, one more thing.
You may be reading this and thinking “yes, that's me”, “and that's me”. And you'll be thinking that you need to start working on all of these aspects. You don't.
This can just leave you stressed out and depressed.
The best thing to do is to break all of four things below into smaller elements. And then pick one that you feel is holding you back the most and work on that one.
Your biological makeup is incredibly important in how you turn out, determining roughly 40% of your personality. In a way, this can feel frustrating, as you have no control over the genes that your parents pass down to you.
However, don’t assume that your genetic traits have full control; there’s always room to change yourself for the better, no matter how you are built at the biological level. For example, recent studies show that only about 54% of personality traits are stable during young adulthood.
What this factor means for your manifestation work is that you may be predisposed to face some of the blocks and difficulties that have held you back.
Firstly, let yourself off the hook for these troublesome traits given to you by your parents (e.g. a short temper or difficulty concentrating); letting go of guilt and shame about shortcomings will help you stay positive about your goals. Secondly, acknowledge that you are able to combat these natural tendencies, and commit to working extra hard to do so.
“Environment” is a broad concept, including everything from your social circle, home life and spiritual context to your work experiences, your country, and your economic security. All of these aspects help to shape your personality, by teaching you about individual differences and helping you define who you are by contrast.
Interestingly, scientists have discovered that all of these environmental factors allow for reliable predictions of who will enjoy certain types of work. Similarly, that there’s a stable correlation between personality traits and career experiences.
There are plenty of ways to use this information to help you make more progress with the Law of Attraction. In particular, if you’re struggling to find your life’s purpose, considering the environment that shaped you might help you to look at this question from a productive new perspective.
For example, try writing down every environmental factor that played a role in developing your personality. In addition, note down how these factors impacted on who you are. Then take a critical look at the list and ask yourself what it suggests about (1) the things that will bring you success and happiness, and (2) the things you’re likely to find challenging.
Another of the major influences on your personality and manifestation potential relates to what you share with your family of origin. However, it’s important not to overestimate the genetic component when it comes to siblings. Even identical twins only share about half of their traits, and regular siblings are only about 20% similar on average.
What’s perhaps more significant when thinking about who you are and what can help you attract what you want is the family messages you received when growing up. For example, you’ll have been taught about certain traditions; your family will have tried to emphasize certain values, and you’ll have uncritically adopted at least some traits as a result.
Even if you’ve rejected certain family messages as an adult, your subconscious may still feel guilty about doing so. Law of Attraction experts talk a lot about the power of limiting beliefs. There’s an intimate connection between such beliefs and the traits you develop because of your family’s influence.
Whenever you hit a roadblock in your manifestation attempts, ask yourself what underlying beliefs and assumptions are holding you back; many of them may be unaddressed messages from childhood.
Traumatic experiences have an especially important role to play in your personality as well. Therefore, they can impact your progress with the Law of Attraction. If you got through something harrowing (especially during your formative years), it will exert a tremendous influence on what you grow to fear in later life.
It is unacknowledged or unprocessed fears that largely hold you back from attracting love, success, abundance or other forms of happiness you truly deserve. In some cases, therapy will be helpful in addressing blocks created by trauma.
However, it’s not just trauma that’s important here; research strongly suggests that early feedback makes us more likely to be introverted or extroverted. So, if you were bullied, you’re likely to be introverted, and if you’re widely praised then extraversion is more likely.
Once again, the trick here is to understand the roots of these traits so you can consciously work to reshape underlying thoughts and feelings that hold you back from manifestation.
