Words as a glimpse

It's hard to say sometimes how much of a person's behavior is due to personality given by genetics, and to conditioning of our training given by others, and to experience given to us through life's situations.  From observing people I have known a long time, I can see the merit of the saying, "You can't change the stripes on a zebra."  Genetics play a large part of our behavior.  But the idea that "clothes make the man" lends itself to the environment and its influence on our behavior.  And, Janet Fitch's words, "The phoenix must burn to emerge," cannot be counted out of any formula for dealing with people.

Psychologists have been working for years on what shapes a person's behavior.  Studies include changes in behavior due to hormones and medication, changes in one's environment, manipulating routines, and changes to one's preferences in established routines.  Still there are no definitive answers.Since the science of the mind can't really produce the ultimate answer on why people act the way the do, I don't mull that question too much.

Personality to me drives behavior, so understanding personality is the path to enlightenment on this issue.  But personality is a tricky thing.  It has facets to it.  It seems to be related to genetic makeup more than any other factor.  In a lot of cases, knowing the pattern of the stripes on one side of the zebra allows for one to predict what the other sides of the zebra look like.  Personality is not divided into four quadrants showing primary and secondary traits as major companies have presented this idea.  Personality has a blend of traits that react to all kinds of circumstances, even to elements in a circumstance that may seem minor to an onlooker.  The trigger that activates anger in one setting is allowed to pass without reaction in a different setting by the same person.  Why?

One way to find out is by analyzing the words people use.  Words can serve as the windows to see into the mind.  Patterns develop with words that indicate the patterns developing in the mind.  That allows one to see behaviors such as lying, risk, preoccupation, depression, nurturing, and love.  To a great extent, patterning the words of someone, reveals the patterning of a person's mind.  So, knowing how to listen is a real virtue these days.