Website owner:  James Miller

Origin of many of my personality traits




   I have listed, on occasion, strongly pronounced personality 
   traits that I know I possess.  Traits such as 
   conscientiousness, cautiousness, methodicalness, thriftiness, 
   independence, self-reliance, an inclination towards thought and 
   reflection, etc..  Now I ask: Are these traits inherited or are 
   they traits that I developed?  I believe they are all or almost 
   all traits that I have developed.  By what mechanism were they 
   developed?  I believe thy were developed through the action of 
   Thought and Reflection upon my personality.  I can remember 
   periods in my youth when I was reflecting over the merit, value 
   and tactical power of such virtues (as I considered them) as 
   independence, self-reliance, reflection, thought, 
   methodicalness, carefulness, determination, conscientiousness, 
   honesty, justness, etc..  And as I spent long periods 
   ruminating over these virtues, considering their merits, I 
   unwittingly set up a value system for myself;  I inculcated 
   them into my mind and heart.  All of the thinking and 
   reflecting had the effect of molding and shaping for me a 
   philosophy and outlook.  Furthermore, I know I followed all 
   this thinking and reflecting up with something else:  I 
   actively tried to put these virtues into practice, to cultivate 
   them, and make them part of myself.  Thus, led by Thought and 
   Reflection, I deliberately constructed for myself what I viewed 
   as a model personality; a personality built from those elements 
   that I thought were important.  In the same way Thought and 
   Reflection are responsible for a lot of other life habits that 
   I carry to this day: habits like teetotalism, no smoking, no 
   indecent or profane language, etc..  And I think it is 
   important to realize that my conversion at the age of nine 
   (becoming a Christian, being born again) underlay much of this.  
   I was serious about the commitment I had made to God and was 
   determined that a true spiritual transformation was really 
   going to take place in me.  I was determined that I was going 
   to be, really and truly, a new creature in Christ Jesus. 


   Aug 1986




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