I’m a strong proponent of describing our leanings by means of our natural temperament BUT there can be a tendency to excuse behavior on the same basis.
Because you are hard-wired a certain way – easy-going Phlegmatic, detailed Melancholy, outgoing Sanguine, or hard-driving Choleric – is not an excuse for not evolving your behavior.
The dictionary defines EVOLVE as “to develop or achieve gradually” — and this I maintain should be happening no matter what your temperament.
Phlegmatics need to fight laziness — to evolve would mean to become generally more active over time through work and discipline. Melancholies tend to over-analyze and criticize — to evolve would mean putting these tendencies to good use in helping others actively. Sanguines can be disorganized and messy — to evolve would mean implementing systems of organization that they would follow regularly. Cholerics have little patience with others and care little about their feelings — to evolve would mean taking others’ thoughts and feelings more into consideration.
As an introverted Phlegmatic I’ve tried to evolve; while being more outgoing still tires me I no longer totally dread it. I encourage each of us to evolve by changing behaviors over time.
Billie, I do agree that is a useful tool when deinlag with others. Tailoring my response to someone differently than someone else based on who they are. Even my children I think could benefit from me looking more closely at this for them. And I also agree that we should use this as a tool to help not a crutch but my frustration lies in the fact that I can’t figure out where I am myself. That really irritates me to not know what section I’m in and if the answers I give are my true self or from what I’ve had to learn to be and should I try to unlearn that area and focus elsewhere. I have taken these many times and tend to always get different answers. But I do think there are many who this helps tremendously and my husband is one of them as are most in my Sunday school class. I just always feel like I don’t fit in the right boxes of those tests because I never know if my answers are my true self or my learned fake it because you have to self haha.