If any of you are writers or artists, then you know that sometimes the creative process just seems to stop. Usually there isn’t even any particular reason. It’s actually pretty traumatizing. For me, my imaginary friends that live in my stories are some of the most important things in my life and when I suddenly can’t seem to find them, it sometimes seems like they’ve died. It’s silly to say, but while they’re gone it feels like they might never come back.

Aliens Among Us

If I ever look at you like you’re an alien, it’s a pretty good bet that you might be an artisan.

I don’t know how many, if any, of you have ever studied personality theory, so let me explain. My favorite personality theories are all derived from work done by the Myers-Briggs personality tests. At the most basic, people can be divided into four personality types or temperaments, the psychological characteristics that build us into the people we are. People react differently to the same stimuli and usually the differences can be traced back to their personalities. The impact is actually pretty incredible, ranging from what we value to how we process information to how we react to stress and beyond. An author named David Kiersey studied personalities in action for more than fifty years before his death and created one of the most fleshed out personality theories that I have ever heard of. He divides people into four temperments, Rationals, Guardians, Artisans, and Idealists. The categories are decided, at the most basic, by how people use tools, anything and everything around us, and how people use words.

When it comes to using tools, including such things as buildings, cars, or even organizations, people will either act cooperatively or act as an utilitarian. This means that cooperatives will generally use tools in a way that benefit, or at least isn’t a detriment, to those around them. Utilitarians will generally use the tools around them to complete the task at hand regardless of the social impact.

Word use is perhaps a little harder to understand. People will usually either use concrete words or ideas or they will speak in abstractions. Keirsey writes that concrete words send signals that are readily interpreted with one or more of the five senses. Abstract words tend to convey messages through symbols that can only be seen or understood with the mind’s eye.

Using this format, Kiersey built a grid that shows four basic temperments. Rationals use abstract words and are utilitarians in their use of tools. Guardians use concrete words and act cooperatively. Artisans use concrete words and are utilitarians and finally, Idealists use abstract words and act cooperatively.

I encountered a particularly dramatic instance of these different personalities today. I was invited to a discipleship event at my church and there were to different lessons, one presented by an Artisan, my polar opposite when it comes to personality, and the other by a fellow Idealist. The basic premise of each lesson was the same, but the each leader’s approach was worlds away from the other and I even found myself recoiling from the Artisan’s competitive (almost combative) energy and instead gravitating toward the Idealist’s warmth and earnest passion. This, I believe, is the reason for the great diversity in the body of Christ and at once its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Every personality will react slightly differently to the same message, and those that were captured by the Artisan’s fire might easily be driven away by the Idealist’s emotion and vice versa. Unfortunately this can easily lead to people building cliques or walking away in offense.

Moving In

Due to changing over from Blogger to WordPress, I’ll be posting more often than usual until all of my stories are back in my archives. Because I haven’t posted anything new about Melody’s origin story, I’ll be focusing on that until I can post new content. Please enjoy, share and like if you are willing to and let me know what you think.