Thursday, February 5, 2009

Portrait of the Peaceful One

This is week 2 of an impromptu review of Hippocrates’ ancient personality classifications. This week's spotlight personality spotlight is the opposite of last week's Choleric. The choleric (leader's) animal link is the lion. Today, I want you to meet the Phlegmatic, or Peaceful as I prefer to call them. Everyone needs at least one friend in the group that’s Peaceful. We’re talking NO DRAMA. The golden retriever is a portrait of the peaceful.
Faithful and loyal, competent and steady. The Peaceful personality is somewhat of an introvert and is of the slow and steady wins the race mentality. They are able to bring harmony to a group because a primary motivation is keeping the peace. They are great under pressure and have administrative abilities.

They can be frustrating in their flexibility when decision-making time comes. If you ask them to decide where the group is eating, it’s hard to get an answer. They’re the ones who say “anything is fine”. They are not very self-motivated and can become couch potatoes if you leave them alone. They tend to deal with conflict by trying to ignore the problem.

George Bush, Sr. was a peaceful personality, proving that they can be leaders too. He was often criticized for being clueless because he was slow and thoughtful in his responses. He was also considered to be wishy-washy; surely a factor in losing his bid for re-election in 1992 to Clinton.

Natural professions for the Peaceful would be teacher, diplomat and social worker.

My son, who I told you a little about yesterday, is primarily a Peaceful personality. Clues in what I told you – he was an easy child and he didn’t care for team sports. He is everybody’s friend.
I would venture to say that a well-known blogger who fits this personality profile is Lysa TerKeurst. Bear in mind that rarely do people fit neatly into one type but are often a blend of two types. Both of these mentioned have a good dose of the Sanguine as well.

As we mature, we usually consciously develop certain attributes that assist us in accomplishing our goals. Thus, it is often a person’s weaknesses rather than her strengths that reveal more about natural temperament.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about the Sanguine. This is a playful otter type.
I'm saving the most complex for last... the Melancholy (Analytical) , represented by the beaver.

5 comments:

sara said...

Yea, next week is ME!!!!

My youngest son would be this category, very peaceful, easy child!!

Greg C said...

I think I would fall into this catigory. I tend to be peaceful. Well unless you push the wrong button. :)

Kelly said...

I think this is my complete opposite. I'm the Lion. :-)

Anonymous said...

This is soooo not me. And unfortunately for me, sooooooo not my strong-willed child. I don't know where in the world he gets it from?? :-P

Gutsy Living said...

My middle son fits that description. He's sweet and loving, but can't make a decision easily. I get frustrated with really wishy-washy people myself. What does that make me?