What's Your Temperament?

A few months ago I went to 4 Marks.com and took their free temperament test.  I really like this test because it's pretty extensive and it gives you percentages on your temperament types (if you're more than one, that is).  4 Marks explains much better than I could why understanding your temperament is important: 

"One's temperament is a gift from God, an important aspect of our human nature that brings with it certain strengths as well as weaknesses. It is important to know oneself so that one does not go through life reacting instinctively, but rather acting with wisdom and fortitude. When we begin to understand our temperament, we can identify our natural tendencies and use this as a springboard for growth. As Christ pointed out in Luke 14:28-33, who would build a tower without first calculating the cost? What king would go into battle without first taking an inventory of his troops? Understanding our temperament is like taking a personal inventory of our natural strengths and weaknesses, so that we can "calculate the cost": what virtues do I need to grow in and what skills do I need to develop to become a more happy and holy person?"

So I took the test, and I am 81% Sanguine and 19% Choleric!  What does this mean, you ask??

The Sanguine / Choleric

"The sanguine-choleric is the most extroverted of all the temperament combinations. With the addition of the choleric aspect, the optimistic, impulsive, fun-loving sanguine becomes more adept at follow-through, taking significant leadership roles, and juggling many projects without unduly sacrificing productivity. This temperament tends to be a happy combination of charm and decisiveness, creativity and analytical skill, friendliness and focus.

Your ability to connect with people balances out the domineering and relentless temperament of the pure choleric. You value relationships highly and make friends easily. You are insightful, enthusiastic, and affectionate; your sanguine capacity for dealing with people, combined with the leadership skills of the choleric, make you an excellent manager of people. You are also capable of constancy, dedication, and serious undertakings — though at times you may have been underestimated, due to your often humorous and light-hearted manner. You not only are capable of creative inspiration, but also you will find within yourself the persistence and drive needed to carry out your inspirations.

St. Peter may have been a sanguine-choleric. He was impulsive, enthusiastic, protective, talkative, frequently wrong — yet a heroic and passionate leader of the flock.

The bad news is that, if intellectual, human or spiritual formation is seriously lacking, this temperament blend can exhibit the worst of the two temperaments: overly talkative, brassy, opinionated, loud, rash, swift to jump to conclusions, and forgetful. If intellectual depth is lacking, this temperament mixture can become superficial, bossy, and intolerant. The high-spirited humor of the sanguine can become biting and hurtful when combined with the unforgiving, vengeful nature of the poorly formed choleric. If pleasure-seeking and impulsivity are not contained, the sanguine-choleric may wind up with a lax conscience that justifies his weaknesses, ultimately resulting in habitual sin. Easily captivated by exciting new projects or opportunities, the sanguine-choleric should watch out for his tendency to come up with great ideas, put everyone to work, and then drop the ball when the project gets tiresome. On the other hand, the natural generosity flowing from the sanguine temperament will commit him to many good works."

So what does this mean in my life?  I think the description is pretty dead-on.  I'm definitely a people-person, and I highly value relationships and friendships.  I love hanging out and having fun, but I do need to focus more on developing a daily prayer routine.  My choleric nature is there too, which is where others can see my mother in me (if I had to guess, she's probably pure choleric).  When I was the office manager at Matherne's, one of my jobs was to supervise the other cashiers and make sure they were doing their jobs.  This position helped me to learn more about leadership, which will be great when I have to control a bunch of kids when Blake's at work.  The problem with my choleric side is that Blake is choleric/melancholic, meaning we sometimes...clash (to put it mildly, lol).  We're both very stubborn and passionate people, and understanding one another's temperaments will help us to grow as a family! 
 
One of the books on my ever-growing "To Read List" is The Temperament God Gave You, which takes a look at the four temperaments through a Catholic perspective.  Understanding your temperament will help you to be a better individual, spouse, parent, friend, and Catholic!  A lot of my friends have read this book, and I can't wait to be able to read it (that is, if I can stop running my sanguine/choleric MOUTH long enough to sit down and read a book, lol)!

So post a comment and tell me what your temperament is (remember to sign your name at the bottom if you're posting anonymously)!