Shona Neff

How can opposite personalities be similar? I know it sounds weird, but that’s exactly how it works. Let’s start with the choleric and phlegmatic personalities.

Choleric and Phlegmatic

For those of you familiar with the choleric personality you’ll remember that this is the most intense of the four personality types. They bring an unseen force when they inter a room . . .  what kind of force depends on if they are in a good mood (positive) or bad mood (negative). You never know what to expect from the unseen energy of a choleric. They are go-getters who thrive on accomplishment. They also enjoy recognition for the many things they accomplish. (more…)

It’s pretty evident that our system (probably ANY political system for that matter) has it’s share of sheep and wolves as discussed in the first two posts in this series. However, what happens when political SHEPHERDS burst onto the scene?

What exactly IS a shepherd? According to dictionary.com it is one who protects and guides. I’d like to also add a term I saw floating around the Internet: keeps the flock together. So, armed with a definition let’s see what we can learn about a political shepherd. (more…)

Political sheep were the focus of my last post. Today, we are looking at political wolves. Now, to be honest, if you took a cross-section of American voters and non-voters, much of who someone “considers” a wolf is based on one’s ideology or party affiliations. Despite having strong views my goal is not to turn this into a political forum, but rather share with you unbiased information about personalities that you can use as a tool to better understand those who would be our leaders.

So, what, exactly is the definition of a “wolf”? Well, as one would expect, I got a lot of the animal description such as “canine” and “large dog,” but obviously that isn’t exactly what I was looking for even though I giggled at the many unflattering canine traits that fit some of our current leaders. However, when they got into wolf behavior. . . . I hit the jackpot!! Here we go into some material we can really sink our teeth into: (more…)

Everyone LOVES a party . . . right? Well, not always. Some personalities would rather pass on the party scene full of people and enjoy a less chaotic celebration.

My family just celebrated a cluster of birthdays which provided a great example for this topic. Let’s start with my mother who just celebrated her 80th birthday. It was a nice celebration that provided me great insights into birthday party personalities.

My sister is sanguine and LOVES all sorts of gatherings, social events, and parties. She was instrumental in plotting and planning the festivities. That makes sense because sanguine personalities are made for fun . . . and planning fun is super FUN for them! Being spontaneous people, they consider the element of surprise a true spice of life. Sis suggested a SURPRISE party for Mom. However, our mom is melancholy and doesn’t do “unplanned” very well. I suggested to my sister (who lives out of state) that rather than too much surprise, that she, at the very least, let Mom know that she planned to visit around the time of the birthday and then surprise her with the party. That way, Mom could have a visit on her calendar which allowed Mom to plan ahead while still allowing for the surprise party. (more…)

Personalities and fashion? YES!…they go together like a hand and a glove. Did you know it is possible to identify someone’s personality by just taking a good look at them? Clothing can be a pretty big indicator.

In my last fashion post I just picked clothes that typified the personality look I was going for. However, this time, I chose a theme to show how differently each personality dresses for the same situation. I chose an afternoon out on the town as the backdrop for my choices….maybe lunch, followed by an afternoon at the museum, or shopping with a friend. Thanks to my “go-to” girl, Shilpa, and her associate, Brooke, who helped me find rockin’ styles from the Young Contemporary/Edge department from the Dillards located in the Winrock Center (Albuquerque, NM).

Sanguine

Here is me in the sanguine look. Bright, colorful, and FUN!  I really love this outfit, but as a phlegmatic personality you probably won’t see me frolicking around town in this. It’s a little TOO bright for me, but there are many sanguine women who would wear this outfit around town and feel quite comfortable. They are certain to turn heads in the eye-catching outfit . . . and that is just what a sanguine loves: to be noticed.

(Jacket and dress – Chelsea & Violet, Boots – Steve Madden (from the Dillards shoe department that I now own, yay,  Purse – from a very sanguine shelf in the Dillards accessory department.) (more…)

“Some people’s personalities are so compelling that they command attention.” Laura Linney

It’s true! Some people stand out while others are a quiet presence in the world.

“Everyone shines, given the right lighting.” Susan Cain

For some personalities, the lighting is more subdued, but just as piercing.

Today’s post finishes out the series of 10 Things You Need to Know About Personalities.

Every person born has a personality. For those who believe in the Divine Creator, people were made in His image, and He doesn’t make junk. That’s why I know everyone has a personality and each of us has value and is wonderful no matter what personality we are blessed with. Whether you are one of the extroverted gems (sanguine or choleric) or are more of an introverted treasure (melancholy or phlegmatic), YOU  ROCK! (more…)

Very few things in this life are one hundred percent certain with the exception of life, death, and taxes. Visual identification of one’s personality, although quite accurate, is one of the those things that isn’t a one-hundred percent certainty. So, today we will look at #7 on my list of 10 Things You Need to Know About Personalities.

Recently I  misidentified a young father I see on a weekly basis. However, since he attends a personality group I’m leading in my home, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him better than our typical weekly encounters allowed. I originally identified him as a sanguine personality, but after having more in depth conversations and seeing the results of his personality profile, (a “test” consisting of word groups that help assess one’s temperament) sanguine was the personality that LEAST described him. So, why don’t visual clues always match someones actual personality? (more…)

When I worked at my friend’s dry cleaner, I knew what to expect from many customers the minute they walked through the door. I didn’t need to hear their voices or take time to size them up. It was all in the way they presented themselves: clothing, colors, hair, and demeanor spoke volumes to me because I understood personalities.

Today, we area going to talk about the visual clues that so often give up someone’s personality before a word passes between two people. That is our focus for #6 in the series #10 Things You Need to Know About Personalities.

Before diving into the visual clues of each of the four personality types, it is important to know that, although assessing someone visually can be very accurate, it isn’t fool proof. Sometimes it takes observing the behavioral signs along with the visual signs to get a proper reading on who someone is. (more…)

Our focus for #5b is all about emotional needs. Each of the four personality types has them. In the original post, 10 Things You Need to Know About Personalities, I compared emotional needs to a cars gas tank: just like a car cannot “go” with an empty tank, people do not “go” very well when their emotional tanks are empty.

There are certain things that each personality type needs to be “filled up”. Even though there is not a personality “pump” that automatically delivers these nourishing things to people like a gas pump does for cars, if you understand these needs you can become a sort of pump for those around you AND for yourself. Being a “personality pump” is important when dealing with others as well as keeping your own emotional tank full. Let’s see how THIS part of personalities works.

Phlegmatic

I’ll start with me because I know myself so well. (more…)

Today we are on to #5a as part of our detailed explanations from 10 Things You Need to Know About Personalities. (NOTE: #5a, you might ask? Yes, I counted wrong when I made my top 10 list, so since I included TWO fives, so I broke them up into #5a and #5b.)

Today, we learn about why we tend to marry our opposite personality. It amazes me how true this little tidbit is – most couples I know ARE married to their total opposite. Spontaneous and fun-loving sanguines tend to marry the more quiet and measured melancholy people, while “the doer” choleric and the procrastinating phlegmatic are almost always drawn to each other. Doesn’t it make more sense to be attracted to someone who is more like you? (more…)