Thriving
through understanding Temperament and Personality
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to the main book review page)
Gifts Differing : Understanding Personality Type
by Isabel Briggs Myers, Peter B. Myers
Please Understand Me : Character and Temperament Types
by David Keirsey, Marilyn Bates
Type Talk : The 16 Personality Types that Determine How We Live, Love, and Work
by Otto, Kroeger, Janet M. Thuesen
Do What You Are : : Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type
by Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger
The Art of Speedreading People : to Size People Up and Speak Their Language
by Paul D. Tieger
Who are you? Do you renew
your energy through social contact, or do you recharge your battery through
solitude and sorting through your own thoughts in private? Are you concrete in
your thinking; do you think in terms of what is factual here and now, and do you
rely on your five senses to deliver the information you need? Or, do you think
in terms of possibilities, read between the lines, think abstractly, and absorb
information almost through your pores? Do you focus on people and interpersonal
aspects when making decisions? Or, are you more apt to focus on ideas, tasks,
materials, and the non-personal side of life? Finally, do you prefer structure,
closure, and achieving goals, or do you like to go with the flow and take life
as it happens? Are you more work-before-play or play-before-work?
This is a very simple version of the Myers Briggs theory which many of us have
found enormously useful. The preferences I’ve just described are Extroversion
vs. Introversion, Sensory preferences vs. Intuitive preferences,
Thinking/non-personal vs. Feeling/Inter-personal preferences, and the
Judging/structure preference vs. Perceiving/spontaneous process preference. The
four preferences cluster together to make sixteen distinct personality types,
which can also be grouped into four different types which have very different
basic motivations. For example, a Sensory/Perceiving type may be motivated by
having personal freedom, a Sensory/Judging type may be motivated by fulfilling
their duty in the correct way to their community and family, a
Intuitive/Thinking type may be motivated by acquiring competencies and mastering
knowledge, and an Intuitive/Feeling type may be motivated by achieving
authenticity and by living a meaningful and purposeful life. These obviously are
quite different. People on opposite sides of the fence in either the
sensory/intuitive preference or the thinking/feeling preference may think they
are from different planets, and most certainly from different species. It is
well worth thinking through this interesting model of personality.
Temperament theory can be useful in understanding and accepting yourself, and in
understanding and accepting differences between your innate style, and the
styles of your family members, friends, and co-workers. For instance, is your
spouse unable to impose structure on their space and time, even through you, a
highly organized person, have coached them through it? Or on the other hand, are
you wondering why your spouse keeps trying to get you to keep lists and pick up
your clothes when structure is just not a key operative for you?
I have found Type Talk
to be a very basic introduction, and a good place to start. Please Understand Me
is indispensable for a more thorough explanation, and it includes a short questionnaire
to find your own Myers-Briggs type. Gifts Differing
is written by one of the creators of the Myers-Briggs theory, and is also a very
interesting and useful guide.
Do What You Are
and The Art of Speedreading People
take Myers-Briggs one step further, and are useful if you are interested in
using type to access which career you are best suited for, or if you are
interested in using it to quickly understand the people with whom you come in
contact. I personally found both of them valuable in terms of thought-provoking
ideas. Your personal coach might also assist you in maximizing the strengths of
your own personality type, while strengthening the weaknesses.
The Highly Sensitive Person
by Elaine Aron
I found this
book so helpful that I ordered half dozen copies for my highly sensitive
friends. If you are an extremely sensitive individual, or are close to someone
who is especially sensitive, then this book will shed some useful light on what
is a genetic central nervous system trait (not an emotional weakness). The trait
is thoroughly described, and suggestions are given to maximize the positive
aspects of sensitivity while minimizing the challenges
Feel free to email
me to discuss this, or,
if you would to see a specific book reviewed.