There are two kinds of people in the world: morning people and lazy people.
Morning people are eager to start their days. They plan. They imagine. They can't wait to face the world.
Lazy people want to sleep. They stay in bed even when awake. They avoid doing productive endeavors. They make excuses for everything. Why? Because . . . because . . . well, who knows?
There are two kinds of people in the world: robots and creators. Robots sleepwalk through life without much reflection. They get up. They go to work. They come home. They go to bed. Over and over, again and again, they do as they're told and do it some more. Creators have little love for routine. They see the work-a-day-world as a prison that stiffles creative thought. Tight, rigid schedules make life intolerable. They function best when free to move when their muse moves them.
Clearly there are more than two kinds of people in the world. However, depending on the day, we can only see two types: people like us and people not like us. Usually people like us are imbued with every positive quality and characteristic, while people not like us are easily maligned or ignored.
The book Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates was all the rage a few years back. Corporations and organizations bought copies of the 120-page manual and passed them out to their people. The book included an abbreviated version of the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indictator) test with analysis. Organizations and groups gave their members this test believing that by understanding various personality types, members would know each other better and productivity would increase.
The MBTI is a test based on Jungian psychology (loved Michael Fassbender in A Dangerous Method, btw) and divides the world into various personality and temperment profiles based on answers to a series of questions. No value judgments are placed on the various temperments--no one type is "better" or "worse" than the other, they're just different. However, implicit in these categories is the idea that persons may be better suited for certain roles over others based on their personality. For example, probably not a good idea to make an introverted thinker the head of your sales team!
While understanding people's personalties may be useful in knowing your friends, family members, and co-workers, does it help you enjoy being stuck with a thankless task because it "better suits your personality"?
Think back to the biblical story of Mary and Martha. Martha was stuck fixing food and cleaning house when Jesus came by, while her sister Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to him speak. Jesus said Mary made the better choice by skipping work and listening to him. I see his point. Seriously, how important is the pita and hummus when the Son of God sits in your living room?
I know people who never relax. They are so busy futzing around that they miss seeing rainbows and hearing birds sing. Too bad for them. At the same time, does a person get a pass from menial tasks and drudgery simply because it's counter to their personality type? Does anybody really enjoy scrubbing toilets? I don't think so.
Knowing personality types helps us understand the people around us. We know why certain tasks seem more difficult for some and why others enjoy doing the tasks they enjoy. Diversity in personality and temperment is not, however, a measure of ability or a limit on responsibility. We can be good at things we don't enjoy. And, if our group needs that task performed, we might be stuck doing it. Further, our positions may require us to "take care of business" even if we wish somebody else would step up in our place. You can't expect a willing minor to run to the the 24-hour pharmacy when the baby is sick at night.
In a perfect world, our lives would be unending bliss--and everyone would perform only the tasks that bring us joy. We all would feel fulfilled, self actualized, and free from pressure. However, in the world where I live, someone has to wash dishes, clean up dog poop, discipline the children, and struggle with bills. Not always fun--but necessary.
Do I feel put upon or frustrated when some of these tasks fall on my shoulders? Yes! But, I'm not alone here. Do I feel guilty when these tasks fall on other shoulders? Sometimes. Many families and groups share the same or similar personalities--that's why we were attracted to each other in the first place! Therefore, when we all want to be the head, there's nobody left to be the feet. Here's where communication and negotiation come to play. Find a way to share the load so that no one person ends up being dumped on all the time.
Yet, communication and negotiation require work, while anger and resentment are easy. Which will I choose today? Which will you?
Morning people are eager to start their days. They plan. They imagine. They can't wait to face the world.
Lazy people want to sleep. They stay in bed even when awake. They avoid doing productive endeavors. They make excuses for everything. Why? Because . . . because . . . well, who knows?
There are two kinds of people in the world: robots and creators. Robots sleepwalk through life without much reflection. They get up. They go to work. They come home. They go to bed. Over and over, again and again, they do as they're told and do it some more. Creators have little love for routine. They see the work-a-day-world as a prison that stiffles creative thought. Tight, rigid schedules make life intolerable. They function best when free to move when their muse moves them.
Clearly there are more than two kinds of people in the world. However, depending on the day, we can only see two types: people like us and people not like us. Usually people like us are imbued with every positive quality and characteristic, while people not like us are easily maligned or ignored.
The book Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates was all the rage a few years back. Corporations and organizations bought copies of the 120-page manual and passed them out to their people. The book included an abbreviated version of the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indictator) test with analysis. Organizations and groups gave their members this test believing that by understanding various personality types, members would know each other better and productivity would increase.
The MBTI is a test based on Jungian psychology (loved Michael Fassbender in A Dangerous Method, btw) and divides the world into various personality and temperment profiles based on answers to a series of questions. No value judgments are placed on the various temperments--no one type is "better" or "worse" than the other, they're just different. However, implicit in these categories is the idea that persons may be better suited for certain roles over others based on their personality. For example, probably not a good idea to make an introverted thinker the head of your sales team!
While understanding people's personalties may be useful in knowing your friends, family members, and co-workers, does it help you enjoy being stuck with a thankless task because it "better suits your personality"?
Think back to the biblical story of Mary and Martha. Martha was stuck fixing food and cleaning house when Jesus came by, while her sister Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to him speak. Jesus said Mary made the better choice by skipping work and listening to him. I see his point. Seriously, how important is the pita and hummus when the Son of God sits in your living room?
I know people who never relax. They are so busy futzing around that they miss seeing rainbows and hearing birds sing. Too bad for them. At the same time, does a person get a pass from menial tasks and drudgery simply because it's counter to their personality type? Does anybody really enjoy scrubbing toilets? I don't think so.
Knowing personality types helps us understand the people around us. We know why certain tasks seem more difficult for some and why others enjoy doing the tasks they enjoy. Diversity in personality and temperment is not, however, a measure of ability or a limit on responsibility. We can be good at things we don't enjoy. And, if our group needs that task performed, we might be stuck doing it. Further, our positions may require us to "take care of business" even if we wish somebody else would step up in our place. You can't expect a willing minor to run to the the 24-hour pharmacy when the baby is sick at night.
In a perfect world, our lives would be unending bliss--and everyone would perform only the tasks that bring us joy. We all would feel fulfilled, self actualized, and free from pressure. However, in the world where I live, someone has to wash dishes, clean up dog poop, discipline the children, and struggle with bills. Not always fun--but necessary.
Do I feel put upon or frustrated when some of these tasks fall on my shoulders? Yes! But, I'm not alone here. Do I feel guilty when these tasks fall on other shoulders? Sometimes. Many families and groups share the same or similar personalities--that's why we were attracted to each other in the first place! Therefore, when we all want to be the head, there's nobody left to be the feet. Here's where communication and negotiation come to play. Find a way to share the load so that no one person ends up being dumped on all the time.
Yet, communication and negotiation require work, while anger and resentment are easy. Which will I choose today? Which will you?
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