Nature is often hidden, sometimes restrained, but rarely completely extinguished.
When we try to suppress our natural tendencies & instincts, they often return with greater force. Learning and discussion can make the effects less demanding, but only habit can truly change and conquer one’s nature. If you want to overcome or change the way you naturally act, don’t take on challenges that are too big or too small. Large changes will discourage you because of frequent failures, while small ones won’t push you far enough, even if you succeed repeatedly.
At first, use tools or supports—like swimmers use floats and armbands. But as you improve, challenge yourself by practising with added difficulty, like running with weights. This way, when the real test comes, it will feel easier by comparison.
Where your natural tendencies are particularly strong, and change feels daunting, take it step by step. Start by pausing before acting, like someone who recites the alphabet to calm their anger. Then, reduce the frequency or intensity of the behaviour—for instance, cutting down from toasting with wine at every occasion to having a single glass at meals. Finally, aim to stop entirely. However, if you have the strength to break free in one decisive moment, that is best:
“The greatest victory is the one who shatters his chains and heals his heart in a single act.”
The old advice to correct your nature by going to the opposite extreme—like straightening a bent stick—is helpful, but only if that extreme doesn’t cause harm. Also, don’t force yourself into a habit without occasional breaks. Pauses allow you to renew your effort with greater strength. Constant practice without reflection risks reinforcing both your strengths and your flaws.
To avoid this, take deliberate breaks. Still, don’t trust that you’ve conquered your nature completely. Even when buried for a long time, it can resurface when tempted—like in Æsop’s tale, where a cat transformed into a woman behaved perfectly at the dinner table until a mouse appeared. To prevent this, either avoid tempting situations entirely or expose yourself to them regularly so they lose their power over you.
Discovering Your True Nature
A person’s true nature is best revealed in private, where there’s no pretence; in moments of strong emotion, where instincts overpower learned behaviour; and in new situations, where habit doesn’t guide them.
Those who find work that matches their nature are fortunate. Otherwise, they may feel like strangers to their own lives, as if they’re living in someone else’s world. As the Psalmist says: “My soul has long dwelled among strangers.”
Managing Studies and Passions
In your studies or goals, impose structure on tasks that don’t come naturally to you—set specific hours to work on them. But for what you naturally love, let it flow freely. Your thoughts will drift to it naturally, filling the gaps between other tasks.
Tending to Your Nature
A person’s nature is like a garden. It will either grow herbs or weeds. Cultivate the good and uproot the harmful, and do so regularly. What you nurture will flourish, and what you neglect will take over.
Bacon Blueprint 