As you are all aware, I recently took a new job. As part of what seemed like an unending training cycle for the new gig, there was a personality profile that needed to be completed. I could tell where this was going. Find out your personality type in order to find out how you will mesh with your new team. This time it was different. The company I now work for, actually wanted to know our persona's, and give a 4+ hour training to us on different personalities so we could identify the type of person we were speaking with when issues would arise. This way we could best formulate a plan of how to help the customer (Or Learner if you will, since I work for a university) and really hear them out, and keep them happy with the University as a whole.
Now this seemed like something I could really use. Just maybe I would find out for once, something more than I am empathetic and a people person. To say I have been analyzing all of my friends and family ever sense.... is correct. I have always found people's identities interesting, and finding out what makes someone 'tick' is something I have always enjoyed. So, when pondering what my next blog would be about.. and since a blog is ALL about the person writing it... I decided my beloved followers would love nothing more, than to know what makes me tick, how I respond in situations, and how to get the best response from me in any said situation. I don't think any of these findings will surprise those of you that know me well. For your enjoyment I decided to add in stories of times my response was EXACTLY what was mentioned in my assessment of my personality.
There are six distinct individuality types according to the personality survey I completed. Everyone at some point or another has displayed the different six personality types. But everyone has a base and phase personality. My base personality is: Reactions. My phase personality: Emotions. Just hearing the combination of those two made me think I probably need to be in some form of therapy and/or meds for the rest of my life. Sounds like someone who flies off the handle and is a sobbing mess all day! Not accurate... well, not really... Here are six major make ups of my personality combo: Reactions/Emotions
1.) When things are good for Reactions folks, they're VERY GOOD.. but when they're bad, we're DYING.
*I get laid off in August. I cry for a day straight, and start planning what one brings to the homeless shelter. In hindsight, I had a really decent severance AND unemployment, settle down Radke. In other words, I'm a tad on the overly dramatic side on occasion... I say at least 3 times a week: OMG: Worst. Day. Ever. Followed usually an hour or two later with: YESSSSSSSS! You just made my LIFE! Variety is the spice of life.
2.) The combination of my base and phase personalities create an identity that is exciting, lively, and fun to be around. However, the Reactions person lives in a world of likes and dislikes. My world is black and white. Reactions peeps are a good judge of character and usually get it right the first time.
*Whether I'm on a date, meeting new people for the first time, or in any social situations in general, I will have an individual or group sized up in a matter of moments. I will know within that time frame if I will want to make room for them in my life, or simply let them float out again. In other words, if you hang with me, you're good people.
3.) The Reactions/Emotions person does things for others to see other's response and bring happiness to that person's life. They don't ask for anything in return, but we WANT to be acknowledged for the good deed by hugs, being doted on and then having that person talk about how great we are!
*I was crazy about a boy when I was in college. This boy was a real piece of work. I knew that for him a particular concert he wanted to go to would just blow his mind. So I buy tickets, drive to get him, drive to the venue of the concert, drive back to his college, and then drive back to my college the next day in the middle of finals. Not only did he not acknowledge that I was paying for the tickets, gas, parking, driving to and from putting about 600 miles on my car round trip... He barely acted like he even enjoyed the entire day/evening! I just wanted to see him enjoying it and then talk about how he couldn't believe I went out of my way for him in creating this perfect night! I can't remember, but I sure hope I didn't put out that night.
4.) Just because the Reactions group uses profanity, does not mean we're purposely being profane. We use this language to punctuate points and the importance of the story or situation we're explaining. Since those of us with the Reaction base are artistic, visual, and have a love for all words, we see this as a way to make our points colorful and stand out to others.
*If you've spent 10 minutes with me, you know I swear like a sailor and LOVE IT. Nothing feels better when you're upset than just exploding into a rant of colorful curse words. It's like a cleansing for me. I can clean it up when at work, and with children (mostly) and priests... but otherwise..
5.) If it's not joyful, what's the point?? This is the mantra of the Reactions individual. Having contact with people, playfulness, lightness and fun is what we want and strive for daily. In the work place Reactions think: no research has been done that has ever said you can't have fun and NOT be successful, so why not make each day fun?
* Pretty self explanatory for me. I have been accused of being too lighthearted, or never taking anything seriously. Which is completely untrue. I love a good serious chat, BUT don't let seriousness ruin my thoughts personally or professionally. It's easy to get into a cycle of 'Oh whoa is me' if I continuously dwell on the serious, so I've learned over the years, it's much easier to focus on something for a bit, be serious, have the conversations that need to happen, and then move on. Laughing at something dumb I've done or said, or poking fun at someone, is what makes my days tolerable. After my mom died, I was devastated. My friends that were coming to the funeral were anxious to get there to support me, but also nervous because they didn't know what to say at this horrible time. I was told afterwards, that as a friend of mine entered the church for the service, she was immediately put at ease because she heard my laugh echo throughout the church. She said she knew at that time, that I was okay, and seeing me would be fine. Yeah, something horrible had happened, BUT I didn't want how my mom died, or her untimely death determine how people would remember her, which was a person who was always light hearted and laughing. Also, being my personality type, I wanted others to feel comfortable at the service, so I told funny stories about her as I saw people, or jokes she had with people, to put them at ease. I may have been "dying" in that moment, but there was no need to put others through that pain that I was feeling. I wanted them to take in the person she was and celebrate that, fun and jokes are what drove my mother every day. Easy to see where I got this part of my personality from.
6.) This next part of my persona is probably my favorite, because it's really kind of weird.. and has never been called out to me until earlier this summer. I didn't think much about it at the time, but after getting my assessment back last week, I had a total giggle fit about it. Reactions people focus on trying hard, we are pleasers. HOWEVER, Reactionary types are usually only children, or youngest in the birth order. So our entire lives we have had people help us. Ultimately... we got a little lazy.. "If I struggle cleaning my room, you'll just do it for me." "But mom, I don't know where the dust rags are, I have SOOOO much homework..." And ultimately we just wait for someone to do this for us. Going off to college is often challenging for these types as we have had things done for us for so long, they now need to be self sufficient and it's a large adjustment.
*After this portion of my make up was explained to me, I could think of about a dozen examples. The morning I was leaving for college I just had a few things left to pack. One of them was my alarm clock. Which, oddly enough, I NEVER used over the course of my childhood into my teenage years. My mom was up, she would wake my ass up, and she was my alarm. I was leaving for college (which if you read my earlier blogs, was traumatic initially, thanks to my personality, as I've discovered) I woke up that morning, unplugged my alarm clock to pack...and then it dawned on me: I have NO idea how to set my alarm clock! I walked downstairs, threw my clock down and said, "Here's my shitty alarm clock! I don't even know how to set it!" To which dad calmly showed me, and then I was fine. That entire exchange was about three portions of my personality rolled into one. Now this past summer, was my college's centennial. They had a massive blow out for it in June. My friends and I got a chance to come back to campus, drink like we were 21 again, and have a weekend of memories. Also, I got a chance to see some of my former student ambassadors that I aided in molding into the young adults they had become. Not realizing it.. I was bossing them around the ENTIRE weekend I saw them. "Hey! Guess what?? Mama's beer is empty...who's gonna go fill it up for her?" Or: "Yeah, yeah, that's just never going to work, here's what I need you to do for me.." And I proceeded to direct them around to have them help me get whatever I needed at that moment. My college roommate's husband Saturday afternoon finally stopped everything at one point and said, "How do you do it?! How do you get people to constantly do things for you?!" Then Mary, my roomie said, "Yeah! How DO you do it?! I've gotten Dorito's for you when you were laying on the couch and yelled for a snack! I never thought anything of it.. I just did it." I shrugged, just assuming I was that awesome. Not thinking for a minute it had to do with my personality or why I am the way I am. Mary went on to say that she thought people did what I asked because in the back of my family and friend's minds they want to please me, to make me happy, "If I don't do this, will Megan still be my friend?!" She went on to explain of course she knew I would still be her friend if she didn't bring me whatever I demanded, but due to my command of the situation saying no, just wasn't an option. Which is exactly what this personality assessment concluded with. My unique, and semi rare personality gets me things from people because I, in some weird way, create an inviting environment for people to wait on me! This oddly enough also sounds like a cult leader... Hmmm. Cult O' Radke. I like it. However this same personality that demands things done like refilling my beer, also does things to please others because they take great joy in that as well, we crave people and building a relationship with someone. While I will be serious and can carry on in a respective manner, more times than not, I'm the girl on a table after a few drinks.
So, after reading this, what do you, the reader take away? What I didn't go into was the 6 personality types because it would have made this even more boring than this rambling is already. BUT, we encounter these 6 types of personalities on a daily basis. Each of those types have different psychological needs. When encountering people, so both parties receive what both need out of the conversation, pick up on cues that are being given out in the conversation. But mostly, think of a spin on The Golden Rule. The ol' "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you." Think of it more like: Do onto others as they would LIKE to be done onto. If you think about that twist, you will start seeing the world just a smidge differently.
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