Learning your lessons

Do people really ever learn from their life lessons, or are they eternally doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? I think most people believe they have learned from their mistakes, but the pattern is set and they are doomed to relive history. I mean, how can one really change the way you think, they way you are wired, the way you look at the world, and the actions you choose to take? Many people try to change to fit the mold that others see for us, but are you really truely changed or is just the shell of your existance painted to make it look as if you are different?

I find I am doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. I can be determined to do things different this time, and sometimes I manage to keep up the facade, but the old habits keep coming through. I don't think people can really change, but they can adapt their minds and actions to fit the desires of others. It's a tough row to hoe, because you constantly have to play the part.

But anyways, I am stryaing from my original point - life's lessons. You always read about the children of abusive parents that grow up to become abusive parents themselves, or people who have disastrous marriages only to divorce and marry someone just like the first. I wonder how many of life's lessons that I keep repeating over and over again. I think I am growing and becoming a better (more intelligent) person each day, but is this really true? Are we all just victims of the lethal combination of our own personal makeup plus our upbringing (nature PLUS nurture)? It's a sad, depressing thought to believe that people can never really change. What do you think?