QuiverX Newsletter - The Letters of Personality

Parenting

We've been talking about learning styles and personality styles, and this installment will cover the most common way of categorizing the personality styles - the DISC system. The personality traits in the DISC system are Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Most people are strong in one of these areas and have one or more secondaries. Here is an explanation of some of the traits associated with each of these.

Dominance - these are the decision makers. People who are high D are the movers and shakers, the ones who get things done. Those who are low D tend to want to research more and think about their decisions much longer before taking action.

Influence - these are the emotional people. Those with a high D are the people who empathize with others, and who will connect with people on an emotional level. Low D people tend to try to convince others with data and facts rather than emotions.

Steadiness - these are the stable people. High S people want stability and dislike change, especially sudden change. Low S people are those who like variety and excitement.

Conscientiousness - these are the rule followers. High C's make rules, and like to follow them. They like the structure, accuracy, and tend to be tactful. Low C's are more independent, even rebellious, and tend to be less detail oriented.

(For more detailed information on this subject, check out http://tinyurl.com/yy3grg or http://tinyurl.com/blczj3 .)

Most people, when reading these descriptions, will see themselves in one or more of them. Probably, as a parent, you identify some of the traits in your children too. This is my whole purpose in explaining these traits. If you understand a person's personality traits and how they interact with other people, you can be better prepared when you talk to them, and you can adjust your approach to more likely achieve your desired goal.

For instance, I am a high "I" personality, but my dh is a very low "I". So, when we are trying to make a decision, I need to keep in mind that he will pay less attention to emotions and more attention to facts. If I can bring him facts, he's more likely to agree with me.

In any family, there will be personalities that conflict. Often times, it is because of a difference on this fundamental level. A child who is high "C" will naturally conflict with one who is low "C". Neither is better or worse - we need all varieties in the Body of Christ. But knowing what to expect of people, and what their personal strengths and weaknesses are, will help everyone to be successful.


Health

As we approach the long stretch of winter, I thought I would write about a subject that most of you are tired of hearing about - exercise. Now, don't skip down to the next subject! Exercise can be wonderful for you! I am speaking from personal experience.

I have never been an athletic person. I didn't play sports and I hated doing exercise. Unfortunately, my health has reflected that over the years. I need to lose some weight, and I have often not had the energy to keep up with my family the way I wanted to.

But in the last 4 months I've been doing karate along with the rest of our family. They all have loved it since they started last year, and when I recovered after our last baby was born, I started taking classes. I have to admit that I have been pleasantly surprised with the results.

I can't say that I've lost all the weight I want to lose - yet! But, I have so much energy that I can hardly believe it. I feel like running again! I haven't felt like running since I was a kid! I don't feel like I'm exhausted from keeping up with my kids anymore. I feel like a whole new person! It's wonderful!

Now, it's not all easy, and I don't have a great day every day. That's partly because of my pre-exercise years that I have to make up for. But my good days outnumber my bad days, and my bad days aren't as bad as they used to be. I have lost some weight, and my body composition has improved even where is hasn't reflected on the scale.

So, if you need a pick-me-up for the dreary days of winter, find some exercise to do. Take a class, or join a group, and get moving! It can make a huge difference in every area of your life, even before it makes a difference on your scale or in your waistband!


Quick Tip

K.I.S.S - Keep It Super Simple

My KISS tip today is about birthday parties. We don't do a big party with friends for every child every year. It just gets to be too much - too much time, too expensive, too many extra things to think about. We don't have an official rotation for that sort of thing, but we had friends once who said they only did a party every 5 years for each of their 8 girls.

We prefer to do a big party on their "graduation" years - 8, 13, and 18. Those are the years when they move into page, squire or knight. In years between, if we do a party, it's a very simple thing with homemade cake and party favors from the Dollar Store. Often we just take the family on an outing, which for our family is often a trip to Chuck E Cheese.

So don't feel pressured to do a big party for every birthday. Make a few birthdays special and then do other things to recognize the person on their birthday. Make their favorite meal, or let them stay up a bit later. Be creative and find something that is important to that person to make their day special.


Bible Verse

1 Cor 12:18 (NKJV) "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased."