Every moment of your life is crucial because it shapes your core memories and personality. Each moment creates a ‘memory’ colored by the emotion felt (joy, sadness, disgust, fear, and anger). Joyful childhood memories become ‘Core Memories’ that drive different aspects of your personality, which are like islands.
The more moments related to a Core Memory, the more that personality aspect develops. Our unique collection of emotionally laden memories from life experiences results in our individual personalities comprising these "Personality Islands" - this could be family island, friendship island, hobby island, or any other important defining aspect of one’s life.
While these islands are crucial to our well-being, life is not all rosy. You will not always have “feel good” memories. There will be triggers in your environment that will make you feel angry, disgusted, fearful, and sad. And thus, these personality islands can break down if these emotions make you act a certain way.
However, the good news is - Personality Islands can always be rebuilt. How? When you recognise the trigger and the emotion it is instigating. You allow yourself to respond rather than react when you know what you feel and what caused it. And that’s how you can keep your islands running and intact- by choosing to respond!