Personalities to the Extreme

Shona Neff — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:30:00 -0400

Every personality has its strengths and weaknesses. In fact, the weaknesses we display tend to be our strengths carried to the extreme. You many wonder how that can be; isn’t more of a good thing even better? Not necessarily.

Extreme Sanguine

Sanguine personalities have many wonderful traits. They brighten up a room and are full of fun. They are gifted conversationalists, people magnets, and spontaneous.

But, let’s look at the Extreme Sanguine. When they take their ability to brighten a room too far, they become attention seekers who must always be in the spotlight. In a classroom setting they become the “class clown” often to the dismay of their teacher.

When taken to the extreme, their natural ability to talk can prevent others from getting a word into the conversation. Their ability to draw people to them often leaves friends feeling left out or forgotten because a sanguine has so many friends vying for their attention. Lastly, their spontaneity can translate to a failure to plan ahead and being late to everything. If you are a sanguine, be aware of these extreme traits and try to temper them so you operate in your strengths.

Extreme Choleric

The choleric personality is a natural leader and problem solver. They can assess a situation and make instant decisions. They are very practical and tend to easily cut through the “fluff” and get to the heart of the matter.

These are all great traits, but, when taken to the extreme, they become weaknesses. For example, a choleric person’s ability to lead sometimes becomes a curse of bossiness. Their problem-solving skills can become unappreciated when a friend or family member just wants a sympathetic ear instead of a lecture explaining how to fix the problem.

The practical nature of a choleric often prevents an exchange of creative ideas when he or she wants to solve a problem quickly instead of "wasting" precious time considering other options. This will drive a non-choleric spouse crazy and easily stifles the creative nature of child who doesn't share the same tendencies. Choleric Extreme needs to take time to breathe, smell the roses, and bite their tongues when others try to express themselves.

Extreme Melancholy

Melancholy personalities are sensitive, full of grace and surround themselves with beautiful things. They tend to be time conscious so are seldom late to engagements. They can catch a vision and strive to achieve it with a focus many others can only hope to display.

But, just like the other personalities, melancholies often take things to the extreme. The graceful melancholy quickly becomes critical if people around them infringe on his or her beauty, or mess up their organized surroundings. If you turn exuberant children loose in the immaculate home of a typical melancholy, this personality will have a hard time dealing with the chaos invading their world and will probably let you know it.

Because of their time-sensitive nature, they will keep everyone on schedule or kill themselves trying. They also have little patience with those who have no concept of time. Lastly, their attempts to create the vision they see in their minds often leaves them discouraged if the dream is not accomplished. They can be critical of others, as well as themselves when they feel things fall short of perfection. Because of their sensitive nature, when things don't go like they expect, they have the potential to get really down emotionally.

Extreme Phlegmatic

Everyone loves a phlegmatic. This person is easy-going, non-confrontational, and tends to go with the flow, no matter where the flow is going. They are great listeners with a diplomatic approach to just about any situation.

But, just like the other personalities, even this relaxed person can take things to the extreme. They can get so relaxed they never get anything done and you wonder if they even have a pulse. For example, bills may not get paid on time, or the trash stacks up in the kitchen because the “relaxed” phlegmatic will take care of it tomorrow.

The fact that they are non-confrontational prevents them from sharing things that need to be brought out in the open, like relational difficulties. Actually, things don’t often bother a phlegmatic personality because they will “go with the flow” and naturally adjust to any situation they face. Of course, this can cause a big blow out later that may have been avoided by addressing it sooner.

Lastly, when a phlegmatic takes listening to the extreme, they don’t talk. That can be a problem when others want to converse with the low-keyed and quiet phlegmatic.

No personality is perfect, but if we can identify the areas where we take our natural strengths to the extreme, we can be address our weak tendencies before we hurt feelings, offend others, or neglect the ones we love.

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Personalities to the Extreme