A great book, Personality Plus, by Florence Littauer.
Wife: Oh honey, by the way, there’s a few people coming over tonight for a little get-together.
Husband: Tonight? What kind of get-together? You know I hate parties!
Wife: It’s not really a party, just some people coming over. And what’s wrong with parties? It will be fun!
At seven p.m., 25 people show up at the front door for food, games, and catching up with each other until late that night. Some of them, the husband does not even know. The wife is energized and all smiles. What a great time! Later, the husband retreats to his room, drained and worn out from all the people. He just had wanted to sit on the couch and watch tv.
Does this sound familiar? When I attended CLASS (Christian Leaders Authors and Speakers Seminars) writers’/speakers’ training in St. Louis and in Connecticut a couple of years ago, the staff also did some teaching on the four types of personalities. http://www.classervices.com/.
Suddenly the light came on. Now I knew what the problem was ~ my husband was phlegmatic! Just kidding. The teachings helped me to finally understand myself better, and why I am the way I am (Choleric-Melancholy). It also helped me in my relationships with others ~ to “get” them, and therefore, to be more easily able to accept and love them.
They are not behaving the way they are, just to purposely drive me crazy. It is the way they were created by God ~ they are different from me! And we are all wonderfully and fearfully made in God’s sight (Psalm 139:14). None of the personalities are better than the other.
Each of the four personalities has strengths and has weaknesses. Florence Littaeur, founder of CLASS, says, “As leaders, we need to know what people’s strengths are and why their weaknesses bother us.” We also need to understand ourselves, tap into our strengths, and overcome our personality weaknesses.
Differences in personalities can cause great struggles in marriage, and with our children, other family members, bosses, co-workers, friends, and all those around us.
Florence’s book, Personality Plus, is an excellent resource for identifying what the four types of personality are (Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, and Phlegmatic). It will give you new insights into why you think and behave the way you do, as well as those around you ~ and why your differences can cause such friction between you. With studying of the personalities comes understanding, and even compassion. Knowledge is power, and this book is a great tool for couples, parents, writers, speakers, teachers, and other leaders.
Florence was interviewed by Linda Goldfarb (Communicating With Power) on Blog Talk Radio on the personalities ~ how she began learning about them and teaching about them with her husband, Fred. Florence is such a scream. She’s very funny, interesting, and has a lot of wisdom to offer others. Tune in for a great show about the personalities with Linda and Florence at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/communicatingwithpower.
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