On becoming a better me

[autographedcat]

bunny_hugger, who I know from else-Internet, had this to share on New Years:

On Christmas Eve, I watched Scrooge, the 1951 version with Alistair Sim. This is not only my favorite holiday film, it is one of my very favorite films. As I watched it, I realized that part of what makes Sim's portrayal so great is that he doesn't overdo his portrayal of "mean Scrooge." You can still see flashes of the kinder man that Scrooge once was, and this makes it more believable when he transforms into "good Scrooge" at the end of the film.

This ties in with something I have been thinking about a lot lately. It seems to me that people almost never really change -- at least, not in the sense of becoming an entirely different person. Instead, I think that people become better or worse versions of what they already are. People's essential personality traits generally stay the same; but what they put those traits in service of, and which traits come more to the front, will change over time.

With that in mind, I offer this New Year wish. I wish that all of you will become a better version of yourself in the New Year. And I hope, and resolve, that I will do the same.

Something to chew on.

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I've been saying for years that most of us don't change so much as we become more like ourselves, for good or ill. All the more reason to treat children well ...

[lonemagpie.livejournal.com]

I still say Die Hard's the best - the story of a man so devoted to family and love that he doesn't let any physical hardship or human greed keep him away from his loved ones

[madfilkentist]

I don't really think of the "before" Scrooge as a mean character, just as one who's lost the ability to enjoy life.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

And the funny thing is, I was on my way here when I stopped to make the other comment. :) I like this observation.

[devinsong.livejournal.com]

I've often thought that people don't change, they just become more like some aspect or aspects of what they started out as. Though I also believe people *can* change, if it's something they want and are willing to work hard at...