Recently, I took a free temperament test on the 4marks site. It consists of 107 general questions to assess temperament. There are 4 types of temperament (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic) plus combinations thereof. I went through the test (and signed up for membership to get the full results) and was a bit surprised with the results.
My results show that I have “The Sanguine / Choleric” temperament. I am 66% sanguine, 34% choleric. I thought it was very interesting… until I read about the virtues and vices of my particular”type.” As I read the virtues and strengths, I thought, “well, yeah, sort of,” or “maybe a little.” or “that used to be true (or more true)” or “gee, not quite.” Initially, I thought that either I failed the test or that it failed me. Here is part of the virtues/strengths assessment:
active, affectionate, affable, animated, ardent, carefree, compassionate, cheerful, creative, docile, eager, enthusiastic, entertainer, expressive, generous, fashionable, flexible, forgiving, funny, fun-loving…
I have tendencies to those sorts of things (and the rest of the list) but these things didn’t quite describe me well, either. It was a bit confusing. But just when I was ready to write it off as a bunch a bunk (fun bunk, however,) I started reading the weaknesses and vices! Here is where I became convinced that this was a pretty decent assessment! Many of the negative traits listed are the tendencies of my temperament when left undisciplined. It is true! This was quite eye-opening to me. I had a slow slide into these negative traits through lack of discipline and attention. Here’s part of that list:
distractible, disorganized, emotional, flighty, frivolous, forgetful, inconstancy, lacking depth, scattered, smart-alecky, superficial, undisciplined
The good news is that I have a list of things to bring to the Lord in prayer and to work on ~ vices to get rid of, virtues to strengthen and refine. Just as every vice and weakness on the list isn’t a fit, some of the virtues and strengths do fit. I am encouraged to see the list of “natural” strengths that can be a part of my temperament with a bit of discipline and a lot of prayer. I am armed with information and hope for change for the better. Thanks be to God that I’m not a total loss just yet!
Filed under: Catholic Family Life
