Research indicates that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life. Which do you consider to be the major influence?Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
In today’s modern world, numerous researches have been conducted around the globe in order to improve the personality and the development of an individual. There is one recent research which has clearly shown that the personality and development of a person are highly likely to depend on the characteristics that they are born with as compared to other experiences in their life. However, I believe experiences of a person will have a greater impact on one’s personality and development.
Undoubtedly, if we could utilise the experience we gain from working or travelling abroad, we would be more mature and more open-minded. Whenever we arrive in a new place, we can learn the cultures and traditions from the locals in order to acquire more information about the lifestyles of others and eventually become more knowledgeable. Besides, we may learn how to respect and not to criticise the customs of other races which may be slightly or totally different from ours. By doing so, we can actually get benefited by being able to look at the problems from a various perspective.
We may also become more self-independent than others if we live in a harsh environment when we were young. To illustrate, in India, many children have to sacrifice their studies and come out to work since they were small. They are proved to have the ability to make more mature decisions on their own in a research conducted in India between those who are affluent and those who live in poverty. Moreover, people who face a lot of hardships in their lives will have a detailed plan of what to do next. For instance, they will organise their expenditure well, which in other words, they will not spend money on unnecessary things, especially those luxurious items. Therefore, it is apparent that experiences gained from a various field in their lives have a huge influence on one’s personality and development.
In conclusion, I am of the opinion that life experience has major consequences on our personalities and developments than the characteristics that we are born with. We will be able to think from different perspectives and make wise decisions if we use the experiences that we gained in our daily live.
Alternative Answer:
Many scientists believe that genetic characteristics have more influence on the human’s personality than some experiences in life. Although genetics has some effect on our characters, I believe that the influence of life experience is more significant, and the following essay will discuss this in details.
On the one hand, it is true that everyone is unique, as they are born with different characteristics. While some people are born with an easy going character, others might be born with a melancholic one. People could not choose their genetic characters, and these characters will develop more as they get adults. Therefore many experts believe that genetic characters have a significant effect on a person’s identity.
On the other hand, other people believe that experiences in life have more influence in our life than genetic characters. Communities, family condition, education and work experiences have a deeper effect on a person’s character. For example, a person might be born as a sanguine person, but raise in a broken home family. As a consequence, he could become a pessimistic person when he grew up. Another example is that a man might be a positive person, but as he spent so much time with negative friends, he could become as just one them.
In conclusion, I agree that genetic characters have some influence on a person’s personality, but I think that life experiences are giving more significant influence to our personality. Therefore it is important for us to be selective in choosing the place to live, workplace and friends.