Text 339, 97 rader
Skriven 2006-05-16 14:12:12 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
    Kommentar till text 322 av James Bradley (1:134/77.0)
Ärende: A Different Drummer...  3A.
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Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

JB>  Wind in the hair, seat of the pants...

AH>  Definitely SP!  Don't worry, it gets easier with
AH>  practice....  ;-)

JB>  They were different degrees of the same mindset,
JB>  so I think I'm looking to complicate the system,
JB>  where the system tries to simplify how a person
JB>  approaches obstacles. <?>


          It may sound complicated at first... but I think you're on the right
track when you describe the above as "different degrees".  SP's generally live
in the moment & thrive on spontaneity.  They're not bothered by such things as
the unpredictability of the wind, or the challenge of situations in which they
may have to improvise.  They are oriented to the physical world around them...
as SJ's are.  But unlike SJ's they don't classify things as "good" or "bad" on
the basis of what they're used to or what others think.  SJ's tend to act like
fish out of water when they have to deal with an unfamiliar situation....  ;-)



JB>  Maybe, the net result of a learning style is likely
JB>  to produce a personality type, but it has dawned on
JB>  me to differentiate the two.


          Makes sense to me!  I think the four "temperaments" were regarded as
personality types when the idea was first conceived.  The cause was attributed
by the ancient Greeks to an excess of blood, phlegm, or bile.  Carl Jung later
identified four types on the basis of psychology.  Now educational researchers
have come up with a version which focuses on preferred learning style.  If all
these people have found similar categories... regardless of their own areas of
expertise... personality may be comprised of a number of different factors.  I
can make conscious decisions about which learning or reasoning style to use in
various situations, but I think there's more to my personality than that.  :-)



JB>  My misunderstanding, how you were equating the letter
JB>  designation, I automatically attached the personality
JB>  type letter designation, and suspected you were
JB>  introducing me to an extension, or a subset to that.


          I see some similarities between SJ behaviour & type "A" behaviour...
but with two different methods of analysis here, type "A" behaviour may not be
exclusive to SJ's.  The hard-driving salaried executive may be an SJ while the
ambitious salesperson working on commission may be an SP.  Both may seem quite
intensely involved in their work, but the SP is generally able to tolerate the
unpredictability of a "feast-or-famine" existence where the SJ is not....  :-)



JB>  A-type would avoid cell phones?


          When Dallas questioned this too, I realized I'd been thinking of the
older & more conservative workaholics.  If a person often uses a cell phone to
do business while they're sitting in the pub with a friend or driving the kids
to soccer practice they may be type "A".  Many of the cell phone users I meet,
however, seem to be chatting while waiting in line at the bank & so forth.  Do
they feel guilty if they're not working... or do they gladly accept diversions
from otherwise routine tasks?  Do they worry constantly about being late... do
they get upset when they can't meet self-imposed deadlines... or do they "work
hard & play hard"?  I think what matters is the underlying motivation....  :-)

          I've now done some further research & found a lot of characteristics
which I would associate more with SJ's than SP's.  Apprehension, impatience or
easily induced hostility, eating quickly & leaving the table immediately... or
doing other tasks while eating, rigidity/perfectionism/blaming/fear of germs &
dirt, extreme competitiveness, need for control, jolting the body artificially
while denying basic physical need for sleep/nutrition/down time.  Some experts
think this may result from a lack of unconditional love in childhood.  If kids
have to match a certain standard in order to gain acceptance, they may grow up
feeling they have to do the same as adults.  I think I had the right instincts
years ago when I decided there was more to life than doing homework... [grin].

          I saw an article in which a therapist's advice to type "A" folks who
want to change bears a startling resemblance to what I did.  No doubt you have
heard people say "If you want it done right, do it yourself!"  I heard it from
a waitress I worked with years ago, and I heard it from my father too.  But as
a teacher I couldn't do *everything* all by myself.  Sometimes I'd have to cut
corners, delegate, or both.  Nowadays I'd be more inclined to say "If you want
it done your way, you may have to do it yourself."  Others put their own stamp
on things... that's not necessarily bad.  When I see they can do as well as or
better than I would have I sit back & leave them to it.  Seems to me this is a
more "perception-oriented" style of thinking.  A lot of Type "A" people may be
SJ's.  And as for the rest... maybe they feel they "should" be like SJ's.  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)