Quite often, we convince ourselves something is true of us, and it is really based on our past experiences.
For example, I tell people I am an introvert. The truth is that I became introverted most of my life because of my best friend in high school. We shared everything and were closer than brothers for almost four full years. Then, he was tragically killed in an accident. After that, my life was not the same. I was hurt deeply and began to withdraw from people. Internally I vowed never to let anyone that close to my heart again as a friend. The longer I lived like that, the easier it became to stay that way.
I have seen this type of behavior in numerous other people as well. The list of issues I encounter could go on and on of people I have met who lived one way until something traumatic happened, and they changed their life. Now they have convinced themselves that this new behavior is part of their personality when the real issue might be handling something painful from their past or present.
Everyone likes to think that they are “wired” in a certain way when perhaps their behavior results from outside forces that caused them to change. The good news is that if you were impacted by external issues one way, then you can swing your life in a different direction. If our experiences shape us, then with time, we can reshape our lives in any direction we want to go through new experiences, including the way God desires for us.