“Know thyself” inscription on an ancient Greek temple of Apollo.
Personality is a combination of temperament and experience.
We are all born along a spectrum of temperament traits –
- O – Openness – comfortable with change & new ideas - vs likes routine
- C – Conscientiousness – determined, focused – vs easy going, efficient
- E – Extroverted – comfortable in groups of people, likes attention vs – Introverted -shy, introspective
- A – Agreeable – likes people, wants to help & be liked – vs self confident & independent
- N – Neurotic – worries, anxious, plans for future possible problems – vs calm, ‘in the moment’
- All types of temperaments bring strengths & challenges
Reflect on where are you on each spectrum?
What strengths does this bring ?
what are the difficulties &
what helps with these?
The experiences we have, especially in childhood, form our beliefs about ourselves and the world. If we are treated with respect and love, we are more likely to have a strong sense of self-worth. If we are frightened or treated badly, we often believe the world is dangerous and people can’t be trusted.
We are clever, rational creatures. We can observe, describe and collect information. We form ideas - guesses or theories based on that information. We can test our ideas using experiments or observation. We can change our ideas to fit with new information.
The scientific method involves exploring with curiosity and openness.
We have conscious influence over awareness, attitude, aims and actions. We can actively use these four aspects of our mind to understand and work with any goal or problem.
We choose where we focus our conscious awareness, and we can practice bringing it back there. We can increase our awareness of our environment, our bodies, minds and other people. Whatever we are consciously aware of creates our experience of the present. Looking in wonder brings joy; worrying about the future brings fear; plan the future with others when relaxed and creative.
