Leading and Love

A few months ago, I recommended to my wife and children that we take a personality test, something we’ve never done before. I sent out the link to everyone and gave them a deadline. I checked in once to see everybody’s progress and found out that I was the only one yet to complete the test. I quickly did it. We weren’t surprised at what we discovered. It turned out that all 6 of us were more introverts than we were extraverts, with my wife having the lowest introvert-extravert ratio. She was a whopping 52-48, with the rest of us scoring at least 54-46. This was one of the ways we were able to confirm what we supposed about each other. As we grow we change, and those changes permeate through our minds and help build our uniqueness.

Idea #1

You can’t protect what you don't know exists. 

Most of our family members like the idea of going out. When we have to go somewhere, I’m usually the one who gripes about where we are going and how long we are going to be there. One certain thing is that when we’ve had enough, we start looking around for each other, wearing the distress on our faces. Our faces tell each other, it’s time to go home and recharge. Without hesitation we start plotting our way out. This way we protect each other from getting too distressed.

Idea #2

Self-awareness and relational self-awareness are very important. 

Among six people, we have very different personalities. We react to things differently. We want different things from different occasions. We emphasize the importance of each person being able to properly communicate their feelings. In this space, there is freedom for each of us to be, so that we can hone in on our feelings and talk to each other freely about what might be driving those feelings.

Quote #1

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are.” –Jim Morrison

Quote #2

“People often only see one side to someone's personality, but there are levels.” -Ross Lynch

Quote #3

“I've always had a duck personality. Calm above water, feet going crazy below.” -K. Flay

Challenge

Invest a big bucket of time to examine what truly makes you unique

Affirmation

Everything about me makes me unique and special, which I will love and protect.