Talk to yourself once in a day, otherwise you may miss meeting an excellent person in this world!

Swami Vivekananda

We know, an individual differs from another individual in the ways he/she thinks, feels or behaves. According to psychology, these individual differences in patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving is known as the “personality”. So how does our personality shape up? Well, our personality is a result of combination of what we genetically inherit and the environment where we grow up. Both these factors determine how we are going to be. But mind you, although one’s personality is quite stable over long period of time, the attitudes, behaviors, and thought patterns of a person can change in response to new experiences or personal growth.

Now that we know what shapes up our personality, let’s move on to the types of personalities we may find around us. There are various theories which describe different types of personalities based on different perspectives. So, we will consider two of them.

Some psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of personality, often referred to as the “Big 5” personality traits.  They view personality as the result of internal characteristics that are based on genetics. I will describe these five personality traits in short. The first one is openness. Individuals having openness trait have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and are eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences. The second one is conscientiousness. In people having this personality trait, high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors are observed. The third personality trait is extraversion. As the name suggests, the individuals with this personality trait are social, talkative, exciting, highly expressive and assertive in nature. The fourth trait is agreeableness where the individuals are kind, affectionate, generous and trustworthy. The fifth and last trait of this big five traits is neuroticism. These individuals are sad, anxious, irritable and dramatically emotional in nature. Therefore, you can know about your personality by answering few questions and knowing which trait is dominant in you. Some questionnaires are also available online which give you scores on these traits. But I would say self-analysis is the best tool to study your personality when of course there is no clinical information required.

Two cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman introduced the ABCD personality types. This theory differentiates categorizes individuals into four distinct personality types based on their behavior, attitudes, and responses to stress. Individuals having personality type A are perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed. Type B individuals show low stress taking tendency, even-temper, flexibility, creativeness, adaptability to change, patience, tendency to procrastinate. Individuals having type C personality are highly conscientious, perfectionist but they struggle to reveal their positive as well as negative emotions. Type D personality individuals are worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, have negative self-talk, avoid social situations, lack self-confidence, are afraid of rejection, appear gloomy, hopeless.

So, here we have seen two main personality theories which describe the different types of traits found in us that ultimately shape our personality. However, it is important to note that while these personality types are useful for understanding general behavioral patterns, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and individuals can show traits of multiple personality types which may change over time. Also, personality is complex entity and can be influenced by various factors, including genetics, upbringing, and life experiences. Additionally, personality tests available online should be used only as a tool for self-reflection and growth, and not as a definitive label or diagnosis.

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom!!

Aristotle