For as long as I can remember, I have always had issues with lateness.

My inability to understand how time works seems to be interwoven with my DNA. In kindergarten, I’d be late getting back to class after recess. As a teenager, I would – no matter what – find myself running to netball (the courts were at the end of my street) as the buzzer for the first quarter sounded. On Saturday night I literally turned upfour hours lateto a friend’s birthday party.

To be clear, in no way do I think this behaviour is okay. I hate myself because of it. Being late gives me great anxiety, and I am ordinarily a polite and considerate human being. But for some reason, ‘lateness’ seems to be a feature of my personality I cannot change.

"So sorry, I'm just running four hours late." Image via iStock.

Then last week, as I was scrolling through my news feed, I came across an article byThe Atlanticentitled "Can Personality Be Changed?"

For a long time, traditional psychology has insisted that personality is somewhat set in stone. From personality tests like Myers-Briggs, to models like the Enneagram, the assumption has been that traits like neuroticism, agreeableness or extroversion are set, and that theyshapeour emotions and behaviours. Even Susan Cain's best seller "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", argues that personality is innate and rigid. According to Cain, we live in a world of extroverts versus introverts.

But what about when a trait becomes debilitating? Are we just to come to accept it, like we might our height?

New research claims that personality can absolutely be changed. It just won't happen overnight (dammit).

Barry Kaufman says "with enough adjustments to these patterns over time, it seems that people can change who they are."

According to Dr. Jonice Webb, there are five key steps to changing a personality trait. She writes:

Psychologists insist that the last point, resilience in the face of failure, is the most important action in changing a damaging personality trait.

Indeed, for years I've been trying the "make-an-enormous-unattainable-commitment-at-2am-because-it-sounds-like-a-great-idea-and-hope-for-the-best" strategy, and Icanconfirm with absolute certainty, that it has thus far failed to work.

An additional tip offered by Barry Kaufman, is to change your environment. Whether that be your workplace, living arrangement, or day to day routine, our environment gives way to, and perpetuates, a set of behaviours.

The things successful women do on the daily. Post continues below.

The self-help industry, worth more than $10 billion in the US alone, will not offer any magic cure. Nor will feeling temporarily inspired by the likes of Tony Robbins. The feeling will fade, and you will be left with the harsh reality that there are no short cuts. Change comes from hard work (eugh).

study

There is good news for those of us who a) really want to change, and b) deep down are also very lazy. A 2013 Australian study, found that people's personalities seem to naturally change over their life span. Generally, as you get older you become less neurotic and more conscientious.

But being late is something I am very much in a hurry to fix. So, I think I'll go with Dr. Webb's advice.

Remind me to start tomorrow...