Personality Plus

I've heard about the four different personality types for years.  I've read excerpts of books, listened to Florence Littauer on tape (yes tape, not CD!), and taken numerous different tests.  I know what my personality type is.  I know my strengths and my weaknesses.  I find it all rather fascinating though.  So when one of our friends gave us this book to read, we were ready to take another spin on the personality merry-go-round.  From listening to Flo on the tapes, I knew she was funny, so I was interested to read her book.  She didn't disappoint.  I actually had taken her exact personality test before, back during a teacher's meeting while I was still teaching.  But I thought I'd do it again.  (Even though I knew exactly what it was going to say).  Michael had taken it a couple of years ago too, but he took it again as well.  If you are interested in taking the quiz, you can check it out here.

So before I tell you what Michael and I are, I'll share the personalities with you.

SANGUINE- This person is the life of the party... the "popular" ones.  They are the entertainers... the story tellers.  They usually have LOTS of friends, but aren't super close with many.  They have a hard time saying no, so the over commit and don't usually follow through with anything.

MELANCHOLY- This person is the analytical one... the "thinker".  They are planners, love lists, charts and graphs.  They are considered the "perfect" ones and always want everything right.  They can sometimes over-think situations and tend to be pessimistic.

CHOLERIC- This is the dominant, strong personality... the "bossy" one.  They are good leaders and tend to get things done.  They tend to have a lot of ambition and passion and are generally right about things because they can see the bigger picture.  However, they tend to put people off by their abrasive ways.

PHLEGMATIC- This is the easy, laid back personality... the "peacemaker".  They are the easiest personality to get along with.  They are ok with the status quo and don't have many enemies.  They tend to have a dry sense of humor.  They avoid work and can be seen as lazy.

I really do encourage you to read this book, or a book that is similar.  This one is written from a Christian perspective.  I think it helps not only to know yourself, but also to know and relate to others.  Even though I've read and heard things similar before, it was good to take a refresher course.  I especially liked reading it with Michael.  We laughed.  We gave each other looks when what we were reading was describing the other.  It was just another tool to have to help strengthen our relationship with each other, but also with those around us.

So I'm sure you are dying to know what we are.......................

If you know us in real life, you probably already guessed.....................

I scored almost the same exact score for both Choleric and Melancholy.  I had a few points for Sanguine and I don't have an ounce of Phlegmatic in me.

Michael scored almost the same exact score for Phlegmatic and Melancholy.  He had a few points for Sanguine and didn't have an ounce of Choleric in him.

What's funny is, first you fill out your strengths and then you fill out your weaknesses.  Although both Michael and I scored very similar scores in Melancholy and it is a pretty good portion of our personalities, we hardly scored any of the same words.  Weird, huh?  My strengths are my Melancholy personalities, but Michael's weaknesses are his Melancholy personalities.  Funny how we complement each other even there.

The book is an easy read.  We read it in a few days, with just a couple hours read each night.  If you know what your personality type is, or if you follow the link and take the quiz, leave your results in my comments.  I would love to know!!