Nurture vs. Nature

[iheartschnickle]

I know there is indesputible evidence that some character traits are definitively either genetic make up or how you were brought up. This question has, of course, been the cause of many an argument, particularly when it revolves around the gay/lesbian issue

Comments

[beatlemania78]

I just came to accept that I am a procrastinator and made it work in my job and life. Same with goal setting. Don't set any and achieve plenty without all the guilt;)

I think it might be the size of your goals that is the reason they seem hard to achieve. Break them down to smaller bits (i.e. Tonight I will cross-stitch for one hour, or I will read chapter 1 of the GRE book). Small, achievable goals that will all add up to the end product. A timeline could help too...no pressure for a deadline make us procrastinators do NOTHING. We need the panic. I THRIVE on the panic.

You are not alone. I'm not sure it's nurture. I vote nature.

[iheartschnickle]

I need the panic, but I HATE the panic. I don't sleep because of the panic!

[beatlemania78]

Me too. I just work with it now. It takes too much energy to go against nature;)

[mrs_scarborough]

Since we're bringing biology into this, can we talk about dopamine?

My guess is its all about reward. Our brains release all sorts of great hormones when we experience something pleasurable. We can associate certain behaviors with pleasure too. You know that good feeling of satisfaction you do get when you get something done? Well, do it often enough and your brain will learn to anticipate that reward, and your motivation will increase.

That's why a lot of self-help books suggest you set easy short-term goals before the hard long-term goals. Once your brain is all trained to anticipate that yummy yummy dopamine, you'll find you will seek out and feel motivated to work for the reward. If your brain doesn't get the reward, it will seek out the easy ways it knows it will get the reward, such as the rush of starting and researching a new project, or fantasizing about the next exciting thing. Your brain needs to learn that following through is rewarding too.

[iheartschnickle]

Wow, I never would have thought about that. Interesting theory. I'll have to start trying that and see if it works! Thanks!