Can People Really Change?

Exploring the Possibilities of Personal Transformation

Many of us have heard the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Does this phrase often imply that people cannot change, but is this necessarily true? Can people really change? Can an individual who has been stuck in a cycle of bad habits and destructive behavior change their life and transform into a better version of themselves?

What is Personal Transformation?

Personal transformation is the process of transforming your life and identity into something better through a combination of self-reflection and self-development.

Transformation is not a quick process, nor is it a short-term goal, but rather a lifelong journey that we all go through on our way. It can be thought of as a journey of self-discovery and self-awareness that often involves a “death and rebirth” process where we are challenged to leave behind parts of ourselves that no longer serve us. In this process of transformation, we will encounter many challenges, learn many lessons, and be forced to confront parts of ourselves that we would rather not see.

However, these challenges and difficulties are what transform such an amazing process. Transformation is a process that allows us to completely change who we are and what we want out of life. It allows us to completely change our life story and the narrative that our lives are built on.

Transformation is not a process that happens to us, but rather one that we go through and create ourselves. For this reason, transformation can be a very empowering and liberating experience for those who choose to go through it. Transformation is not a process that is reserved for a select few people but rather is something available to all people who are willing to go through the necessary work to get there.

Why Do People Feel They Cannot Change?

We often hear people say that they cannot change and that they have no control over their circumstances, but why is this the case? Why do people feel like they cannot change? This idea is often based on the assumption that change is an external process that happens to us, but not something that we initiate.

Overemphasizing the external factors that influence change, many people do not feel like they have any control over their transformation and thus feel as if they cannot change. However, we can change our own volition through our efforts. We are not passive actors in the change process, but rather active agents who can initiate and facilitate change in our lives.

We can challenge the idea that change is something that happens to us and instead views it as something we actively participate in and create. Furthermore, many people also feel like they cannot change because they do not know what they want or are not sure where they want to go in life.

Without any clear goals or objectives, we cannot know what kind of changes are necessary so that we can meet those goals and objectives. To facilitate change, we must first know what we want and where we want to go, and then be willing to do the work necessary to get there.

Perspectives on Change

— Change. One perspective on change is that change is a process of addition and subtraction; we add new things to our lives and leave behind or subtract the old things that no longer serve us. In this view, change is a process of transformation in which we improve the lives we are currently living by adding new things and subtracting old things that are holding us back from experiencing the full potential of our lives. This view of change suggests that change is something we actively create in our lives and is not something that just happens to us.

— Stability. Another perspective on change is that change is a process of stability; we are always changing but as a result of internal and external factors that keep us in a state of equilibrium. In this perspective, change is an ever-present force of transformation that constantly influences us, but we can adapt to it so that it does not disrupt our lives and lead to instability.

Strategies for Personal Transformation

• Self-reflection.

Self-reflection is often considered to be the foundation of personal transformation. It is through this process that we can begin to see what we do not want in our lives and what we do want. It is through this process of self-reflection that we begin to see our true selves and the person we want to be. Self-reflection is an introspective process that often involves looking at our past, present, and future to gain a holistic understanding of who we are as individuals and what we want out of life.

• Self-exploration.

Self-exploration is an additional strategy for facilitating personal transformation. It is a process that involves looking at our internal world; who we are as individuals, our values, our beliefs, our thoughts, and our emotions. Through self-exploration, we can gain a better understanding of the internal factors that make us who we are and the internal factors that are holding us back from becoming the person we want to be.

• Challenging limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs are the internal representations of our past experiences and the way we perceive the world. They are often the internal representations we developed when we were younger and going through challenging times in our lives. As a result of these experiences, we often develop unhelpful beliefs such as “people are evil,” “life is unfair,” or “I am not good enough.” These limiting beliefs often hold us back from experiencing the full potential of our lives and are one of the biggest challenges of personal transformation.

• Challenging emotions.

Our emotions often dictate the trajectory of our lives. Emotions are the internal representations of our experiences, and as a result, they often dictate how we see the world. To facilitate personal transformation, we must challenge the emotions that are holding us back. We must challenge the emotions that tell us what we cannot do and what we cannot become and replace them with emotions that give us the confidence to do what we need to do and become who we need to become.

• Challenging self-doubt.

Self-doubt is a challenge that often arises when we are facing transformation. We often experience self-doubt when we are going through a challenging time in our lives and do not know how we will make it through or what we will do next. Self-doubt is often a challenge that we experience when we are in the process of making drastic changes in our lives and are questioning whether or not those changes are the right ones. To challenge self-doubt and facilitate personal transformation, we must learn how to trust in ourselves and the abilities we possess to take on the challenges of life.

This article is written by a therapist from Sensera — a self-help app that provides daily CBT audio sessions and exercises. The app helps people deal with a variety of mental issues (anxiety, low self-esteem, relationship problems). Download Sensera now to become happier!