Possible Selves

A quote from William James in 1890


"Not that I would not,if I could be, both hansom and far and well dressed, and a great athlete, and a million a year, be a wit, a bon-vivant and a lady killer, as well as a philosopher, a philanthropist, statesman, warrior, and African explorer as well as a tone-poet and a saint.....  Such different characters may conceivably at the outset of life possible be a man.  But to make any one of them actual, the rest must be for or less suppressed.  So the seeker of his trust, strongest, strongest, deepest self must review the list carefully and pick out the one on which to stake his salvation.  All the other selves thereupon become unreal but the fortunes of this self are real....  [We].... choose one of many possible selves or characters to become."

This material was reported in the textbook Personality Psychology: Foundations and Findings and tells us that we can make a choice as we age.

ISBN  978-0-205-89745-2