a question of personal progress

Do you think you are the way that you are because it's your nature (and environment) or is it because of the work you (or others) have done on yourself?

To put it another way--

When (if?) you see progress in yourself, do you have specific methods you used that you attribute that progress to? If so, what are they? and- do you think these methods are specific to you (your personality, genetics, etc.) or do you think they are principles or methods that could be used by others?

Update: if you answer this question, let me know in the comments and I'll link to your answer from this post.