There are over 7 billion people on the planet today, and all of us are as unique as snowflakes, each with particular talents, desires, and experiences. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, philosophers have identified personality traits and, more important, groups of characteristics that shape each person’s desires, pursuits, and responses. For instance, some of us are energized by being with a group of people; that’s where we come alive!
But others who are in the same group feel drained and need to be alone to recharge their emotional batteries. Some of us gravitate toward accomplishing tasks by discipline and detail, and others want to perform tasks by involving people. Some are concrete thinkers and see everything in black and white, but others are abstract and see the complexity in every situation. Some value safety and security, and others thrive on taking risks. There are many popular personality tests and inventories you can take to help shed more light on how you, your spouse, and your kids are wired. However, our organization at familyshift.com has identified five different personality traits that we have found to be very user-friendly and memorable.
NINJA – You are procedural, task-oriented, and a detail lover. You love being as thorough as possible and would rather be behind the scenes than in a crowd. People may never see the NINJA, but they know you were there by the trail of completion left behind you!
MASTERMIND – You are inspirational, motivating, and a team builder. You can see the big picture vision and rally everyone behind it. You love seeing people come together to accomplish a common goal. If you see a great team, you can bet there is a MASTERMIND behind it all!
TRAILBLAZER – You show ownership and initiative and are independent. You can tackle just about anything and love to figure out how to do things better. The TRAILBLAZER loves a challenge and will rise to it without fail every time!
GUARDIAN – You are a protector and a cultivator and are compassionate. You watch out for the people around you and take care of their every need. The guardian is no wimp, though; try to hurt those close to a GUARDIAN, and you’ll get your behind kicked!
SOCIAL GENIUS – You are outgoing and friendly and are a networker. You naturally make people feel at ease around you and love chatting it up with everybody. People might say, “Every time with the SOCIAL GENIUS is like the first time!”
None of the personality types is better than another. They all have strengths, and they all have deficiencies. Let me encourage you to take a few minutes and confirm what personality avatar you are (Ninja, Mastermind, Trailblazer, Guardian, Social Genius). Share your results with your spouse or friend. You can take the quiz at familyshift.com. Ask them for feedback to confirm if you’re accurate in your assessment. After you verify your personality avatar, then encourage your spouse and kids to work through the assessment. Why is all of this important? We’ve seen four specific benefits of knowing your unique personality type.
- You’ll understand why you relate to others easily or with difficulty.
- You’ll understand why you respond to situations the way you do.
- You can position yourself to live out your passions and accomplish your unique purpose.
- You’ll be more understanding and patient when people don’t think, feel, or do what you do.
It’s important to strive toward achieving your goals and fulfilling the things we’re most passionate about. However, what many fail to realize is that our goals and personalities are often expressed through our personalities. In a day and age of constant competing and comparing through social media, it’s important to remember we can’t be someone else or even attempt to copy someone else. We are all original. Remember, you be you!
Rodney Gage is a family coach, author, speaker, and the founding pastor of ReThink Life Church that meets at Lake Nona High School. His passion is to help families stop drifting and start living with greater intention. To learn more, check out familyshift.com and rethinklife.com.
