According to brain researchers: These 2 aspects of your personality explain a lot

brain researcher reveals
2 truths about your personality that explain a lot

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Do you sometimes do things or make decisions that make you think “WTF?!”? Perhaps two findings from brain research will help you to understand yourself a little better in the future.

People are generally comparatively complicated. We cultivate habits even though we know they are not good for us. We lie to others even though we trust them. We feel dissatisfied when we are full, healthy, and have plenty of reasons to be happy.

So far, no one has been able to understand our behavior, thinking or feeling always and one hundred percent. Thanks to modern science such as neurology, the brain is in any case insanely complex and much more crass and powerful than any computer. And since it has a large part in what we do, think, feel – in short: who we are – it can be assumed that it will take quite a while before we understand exactly how we function.

Brain researchers were able to find out a bit, e.g. B. that habits are “programmed” in a different part of the brain than language and consciousness, which is why they are sometimes so difficult to explain (or even perceive). In addition, our data center seems to follow two fundamental principles that are likely to play a major role in many of our actions and decisions and that the brain researcher Niels Bierbaumer describes in his book “Your brain knows more than you think” as follows:

  1. “The brain wants effects that have been emotionally positively evaluated”
  2. “The brain is open to everything as long as it achieves a desired effect”

Let’s take a look at what that means for our personality.

2 truths about your personality that explain a lot

1. You always strive for happiness and joy

Most of our actions and decisions, if not ultimately all of them, are based on one goal: to make us feel good about them. In order to achieve this, our brain relies as much as possible on empirical values: We repeat what has conveyed positive emotions to us in the past or use it as orientation for new situations.

For example, if we avoid one confrontation and feel comfortable doing so because harmony is more important and makes us happier than standing our ground, we’re likely to back down in the next one as well. On the other hand, if we mainly feel underwhelmed, small and bad as a result of our evasive manoeuvre, we will probably resolve to react differently next time. But whether we actually do it and it works is another question.

Our behavioral patterns, coping strategies, habits and also addictions develop or strengthen through emotionally positive imprinting, ie through positive experiences. Our brain doesn’t care what we do as long as we feel good about it. It is only when we really fall flat on our faces with our procedures that we will probably reflect on them and try to change them.

And the latter works best if we replace them with methods that lead as quickly as possible to experiences that are just as positive or even better than the old ones. Because otherwise we would have to work against our brain – and as I said: It is more blatant and powerful than any computer … (by the way, you will find practical tips on how to change your habits in the following article).

2. You never stay the way you are

Once through the self-discovery and done? Sorry, it’s not that “simple”. According to Biermann, our personality changes throughout life as our brains are always adapting to the new circumstances around us. Values, standards, priorities – when things change, our brain adjusts and we respond.

So it can happen that a person who is generally prudent and considerate suddenly hoards in a pandemic. Suddenly it feels better to have lots of toilet paper at home than to think about others. If you are a very dear person at 20, you no longer have to be at 40.

You may have your habits and values ​​that you always strive to stay true to, but your willingness to adapt is just as powerful a force and makes you unpredictable – sometimes even to yourself.

Source used: Niels Bierbaumer, “Your Brain Knows More Than You Think”

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