Who are you?

We're all "special snowflakes", right? We're unique, just like everybody else.

Details aside, we *can* be categorized. I'm not referring to skin color or religious faith or ethnic origins. Those attributes certainly can flavor our experiences, but for the most part, our behavioral tendencies are based in our genetic code.

Many of us have people in our lives with whom we just "click". They can be friends with whom we'll interact for perhaps a lifetime. But there are just as many (if not more) with whom we just can't get along. What are the differences between us?

Some of us have a very hard time working in particular environments, or always get in trouble for taking things apart, or doing things in a different way than the "standard". Some are natural inventors, while others are more comfortable with steady, consistent work.

Years ago, my dad had me learn about the Meyers-Briggs Temperament Indicator. It is a device that measures 4 aspects of behavior, and ascribes a point value to those categories:

Extraversion/Intraversion (10-point spread)
Intuition/Sensing (20-point spread)
Thinking/Feeling (20-point spread)
Judging/Perceiving (20-point spread)

Typically, the subject takes a 70-question survey, and at the end finds where in the 16 possible "temperament types" he falls. There is no better or worse type, they're just different. It is possible to fall evenly between two or more types, as most people are not extremes of the spectrum.

Read more about it. You may find it odd finding pages and chapters that talk about you (as if written to describe you).

The Meyers-Briggs Foundation

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

A very good book is
"Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types".

I haven't read the followup
"Please Understand Me II: Temperament Character Intelligence" but I have heard it is excellent as well.

Each of us has natural tendencies, whether usually living by strict planning, or by the seat-of-the-pants. Some people typically choose from the heart, others from their head. These attributes take attention and diligence to adjust, if you feel some change is needed to suit the role you play.

The starting point is knowing who you are.