Are people born with character?
 

Do people born with a set of characteristic or their environment shapes them?
I jut wonder...

Babies are born with certain distinct personality tendencies, but environment plays a very big role in how those tendencies are directed and develop and which become more prominent and which become less so.

I wonder how can babies really have personalities in the first place? Popular Sanguine and the likes can't just happen you know.

Plenty of studies on that. Some traits are pretty clearly genetic. Some probably have to do with the chemical environment of the womb. There are probably other factors that we haven't figured out yet (my husband works with genetics in his research, and they're finding that it's a lot more complex than people previously imagined).

Some people would argue that there are past life influences, as well, or karmic/destiny factors.

Babies are little people, though. They're not the blank canvas that was previously imagined. They are definitely born with personality traits (in fact, with some babies, you can start to become aware of those traits while they're still in the womb). They don't have fully formed personalities, though, just the "raw material", so to speak, and then the combination of inborn traits and environment work together to generate a unique personality in the first few years of life.

Humans are marvellous creature don't you think?
Thanks for the SPLENDID reply,ButterflyWoman.

Character is formed through experiencing life.

We are born as blank slates with unique personalities...but character is earnt through our decisions daily and our choices of how we cope with certain challenges thrown our way in life.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
~The Upanishads

Nature vs. Nurture.

While doing some hypnosis in addition to concrete comfort zone excercises I installed in a friend the ability to feel good about sharing his feelings openly with girl in whom he has interest without being attached to the outcome of the situation.

If you have someone who is willing to change, who's willing to do things outside his comfort zone and you know which buttons to push I think it's possible to install personality traits in short amount of time.

Go spend some time with young babies and you will soon know that they have different personalities.

Some are generally a lot more cheerful than others. Some hate noise but don't mind having poop in the diapers .... Some don't mind noise but absolutely detest the slightest mess in their diapers. Some want a lot of company, others are relatively more interested in objects like toys etc. Some are adventurous in trying out new foods; others are much more hesitant. Some are intrigued and interested by new environments, others became tearful and fearful.

Sure,you can become anything you want, if that was the question. :) No matter how or where or by whom you were born (except in some extreme cases) you can be anyone if you decide to pay the price.

Character is built. Example ------ Bear Grylls
He was a very problematic boy , very bad at school, without strong will. Then , he decided to change and he became over the time the best selling author, TV star, special forces member, scout, climbed Mount Everest etc...

I think the answer to this question depends on what you define as character.

Many people have already noted that we are all born with personalities, as proven by science and anecdotal evidence of being around babies. :-)

But what is character, exactly?

I see...thanks for the reply everyone.

I can see that characters makes life sweeter don't you think. I can't imagine a world with people of the same characters (Especially if everyone is the grumpy type :D).

"Character is what you are in the dark." - Dwight Moody

What I can see from Dwight Moody is that he perceives character as an alter ego of us.

A poignant quote, but not very enlightening. Is the assumption that character is our secret desires? Or our alter ego, as someone else suggested?

If you work to live with integrity, aligning your outward life with your inner values as much as possible, would that mean you don't, according to Moody's definition, have any character?

My two boys could not be more different from each other. They were both raised in the same house.

I'd say their characteristics they were born with. Their character, their father and I shaped as best we could.

I think we've done a good job.

I've just always liked that quote. People can take away from it whatever they wish. I've always taken it to mean that character is who you are when nobody can see you, when nobody's watching. But other people might have other interpretations. That's just mine.