What makes people act the way they do? What motivates people to respond the way they do to life’s situations? Some people respond quite differently than others when they encounter the same situation or are in the same circumstances. Some people are leaders; many are content to be followers. Some people just love to interact with everybody around them, some like to spend time alone thinking and doing a hobby. There is nothing wrong with any of these personalities, but of course, every personality has its weaknesses. People who like to be alone can miss valuable time spent with others. People who like to socialize can be irresponsible because they neglect necessary tasks for the enjoyment of the moment. Of course a balance is needed in every personality. I have a very outgoing personality. I love people, and talking, and laughing, and sharing moments with them. I also like to be alone. I like to sit alone, and write and draw, and just think. Listening to music is also something I enjoy.
Everybody has a personality. Some people have very outgoing personalities; others have more contemplative and reserved personalities. Some would just love to be the “life of the party”, when others would enjoy sitting and watching the festivities. To a great amount, personalities are shaped by circumstances and experience. What has happened to you in your life carries a great deal of weight in determining the way you respond to other things in life. Those who have just fought in a war are often greatly affected by the violence, and for a long time after can be very reserved. Hard circumstances can “harden” people. Experiences can change personalities. A good example of this is the Roman named Masala in the novel Ben-Hur. But even through hard experiences, there’s something that can hold our personalities the way they are. Personalities do not always change, even when facing extremely adverse or even incredibly improved circumstances. Sometimes, you can see no change, because it happens to be “just the way they are.” The reason for this is a deeper human characteristic than personalities. That characteristic is your temperament. Temperaments are less external than personalities. They are the reasons some people are always “glass half full” types; the eternal optimists. They could be stuck in a desert, running out of water, and they’d say “Don’t worry, we’ll find an oasis soon.” Others, like Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh, could be in a flowerbed and be inclined to point out how drab brown the soil is.
There are four major temperaments: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic. They are divided into two major classes, extroversive, and introversive. Extroverts are the outgoing types, made up of the temperaments ‘sanguine’ and ‘choleric’. Introverts are the more reserved, contemplative types, made up of the temperaments phlegmatic and melancholic. As with personalities, temperaments have good sides, and bad sides. Good attributes and bad attributes. People always display one temperament prominently. However, though they display one prominently, most people are combinations of two or more. Below is a listing of the four temperaments and their corresponding positive attributes and negative tendencies. Analyze yourself. What positive attributes can you find displayed in yourself? Which negative tendencies do you need to work on? Realizing your temperament and honing your strengths, and working on eliminating your weaknesses is an excellent way to become a better person and have better success in your relationships.
Extrovert
Sanguine
+Attributes
* Friendly
*Free spirit
*Talkative
*Attentive
*Adventurous
-Tendencies
*Gullible
*Resists structure
*Distracting
*Restless, Sometimes tends to be irresponsible
*Lacks follow through
Choleric
+Attributes
* Leader
*Outspoken
*Task-oriented
*Decisive
*Strong-willed
-Tendencies
*Dominating
*Easily frustrated
*Sometimes can be insensitive to complete a task
Introvert
Phlegmatic
+Attributes
*Calm
*Easygoing
*Dependable
*Diplomatic
*Assesses opinions
*Optimistic
Tendencies
*Spectator
*Seeks compliance
*Worrier
* Procrastinator
*Non-zealous
*Unmotivated
Melancholic
+Attributes
Philosopher
Planner
Self-sacrificing
Creative
Analytical
Gifted
-Tendencies
Impractical
Self-demanding
Easily hurt feeling
Self-centered
Moody
Perfectionist
