Living in Harmony

Can’t we all just get along? These days it seems like the answer to that question is a resounding no! Everywhere I look there’s conflict. What is it going to take for people to begin to live peacefully with each other? First of all it would help if we could understand and except the fact that each of us is born with our own unique individual personality. No two people are alike. Too often individuals think everyone is supposed to be like them, think like them, and do like them. Imagine what this world would be like if we were all alike. We would basically function as robots.

Each of us is born with our own temperament personality, how we think, how we function, how we relate to other people. With these personalities come traits; some can be described as strong and some weak. Often adjustments in those traits are necessary when conflicts arise in relationships. A strong trait might need to be toned down a bit and a weaker trait might need to be strengthened. This creates balance. It’s like getting the sound right when adjusting the speakers on a stereo system.

Balance

Most times when we are in conflict with people that we are in relationship with or work with, it is because personalities are out of balance. In order to live in harmony with each other we have to be willing to make adjustments to our own selves. If a trait of ours is creating conflict with a person that we are in relationship with, we should not just say, “well that’s who I am”, or “this is the way I have always been”. If we really care about someone and want live in harmony with them, then we should be willing to make adjustments. Knowing and understanding your own personality type as well as identifying the personality types of others can help you to have a more harmonious and peaceful life.

Personality Types

There are four types Sanguine (we’ll call them Blue), Melancholy (we’ll call them Green), Choleric (we’ll call them Red), and Phlegmatic (we’ll call them yellow). I’ll give you a brief introduction and see if you can relate or identify.

Blue – STRENGTH: Appealing personality, Talkative, Storyteller, Life of the party, Emotional and Demonstrative, Cheerful, Makes home fun, Turns disaster into humor, Creative and colorful, Makes friends easily WEAKNESS: No follow-through, don’t take themselves seriously, Unorganized; Gets bored easily, Tends to exaggerate, self-centered

Green – STRENGTHS: Deep and thoughtful, Analytical, Serious and purposeful, Self-sacrificing, Sets high standards, Wants everything done right, Orderly, Schedule oriented, Sees the problem, neat and tidy, likes charts, graphs, figures, lists, Makes friends cautiously, Will listen to complaints WEAKNESS: Easily depressed, Low self-image, Prone to procrastinate, Puts unrealistic demands on others

Red – STRENGTHS: Born leader, Compulsive need for change, Unemotional, Independent and self-sufficient, Can run anything, Sees the whole picture, Establishes goals, Organizes well, Is usually right WEAKNESS: Compulsive workers, Must be in control, Don’t know how to handle people, Right but unpopular

Yellow – STRENGTHS: Easygoing and relaxed, Patient and well balanced, Quiet but witty, keeps emotions hidden, not in a hurry, doesn’t get upset easily, Avoids conflict, Good listener, Dry sense of humor, Has many friends WEAKNESS: Not exciting, Resist change, Seems lazy, Quiet will of iron, Appear to be wishy-washy