How Does Our Temperament Develop?

Ideally, we want to find the origins of our temperament, but that is usually deep within us. So let's look at our current behaviour and see if we can work our way deeper within ourselves. The way we behave in a specific situation is conditioned behaviour, that is, we have learned to behave in certain ways depending on the situation or context we are in. At a sports event we are encouraged to shout and support our team while at a funeral we are expected to be quiet and sombre.

Next we need to look at our developed self and how we adapted and grew. This is where we learned how to behave in different contexts. Our parents, teachers, close relatives, neighbours, and our overll culture quickly corrected us when we deviated from acceptable behaviour. Even here there were differences in how we responded. Some children are just naturally curious about the world around them while others just seem to accept things as they are. Some are very outgoing and will talk with anyone until cautioned about talking with strangers while others are happy to be on their own or play with a few friends.

In the centre of our being is our True Self. Finding our temeprament can help us find what is sometimes buried deep within us. Often, we spend so much time trying to impress or please others, that we have forgotten what our true self really is.

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