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Who Are You

You are the vehicle who is going on this journey through life. The better you know who you are the more effective you can be on the journey.

You have a vision for your life and part of that vision is the type of person you want to be. What traits do you need to strengthen, what weaknesses do you need to mitigate, what strengths will serve you the best? These are all questions you need to ask to create your plan to reach your vision, and these questions are rooted in who you are now.

What is Personality in the Life Design Framework

Personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses are aspects of the Self segment of the Life Design Journaling framework.

You are on this journey in life towards your vision. Who do you want to be on that journey? How do you want others to see you? This post is about your personality and what makes up that personality?

Many people are not aware of what their personality is. You are the person who is on the journey and your personality is going to affect how others will interact with you. Having that awareness of your personality allows you to be effective in those interactions.

Your personality is made up of personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, and Interests. This part of the life design is to brainstorm, reflect, and document what you already are. A self-inventory process that will form our starting point of creating a plan to move us on our journey to our vision.

Capabilities and habits, which are also part of our personality will be addressed separately as they are abilities that you actively create.

A couple of definitions for personality traits.

traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion.
source: Saul Kassin, (2003). Psychology. USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.

Knowing your personality traits is important in crafting an effective life design. There are many personality tests available to identify your main personality traits. The more specific personality traits are simply a matter of self-reflection.

Examples of Personality Traits

Positive Traits

Accessible Active Adaptable Admirable Adventurous
Agreeable Alert Allocentric Amiable Anticipative
Appreciative Articulate Aspiring Athletic Attractive
Balanced Benevolent Brilliant Calm Capable
Captivating Caring Challenging Charismatic Charming
Cheerful Clean Clear-headed Clever Colorful
Companionly Compassionate Conciliatory Confident Conscientious
Considerate Constant Contemplative Cooperative Courageous
Courteous Creative Cultured Curious Daring
Debonair Decent Decisive Dedicated Deep
Dignified Directed Disciplined Discreet Dramatic
Dutiful Dynamic Earnest Ebullient Educated
Efficient Elegant Eloquent Empathetic Energetic
Enthusiastic Esthetic Exciting Extraordinary Fair
Faithful Farsighted Felicific Firm Flexible
Focused Forceful Forgiving Forthright Freethinking
Friendly Fun-loving Gallant Generous Gentle
Genuine Good-natured Gracious Hardworking Healthy
Hearty Helpful Heroic High-minded Honest
Honorable Humble Humorous Idealistic Imaginative
Impressive Incisive Incorruptible Independent Individualistic
Innovative Inoffensive Insightful Insouciant Intelligent
Intuitive Invulnerable Kind Knowledge Leader
Leisurely Liberal Logical Lovable Loyal
Lyrical Magnanimous Many-sided Masculine (Manly) Meticulous
Mature Methodical Meticulous Moderate Modest
Multi-leveled Neat Nonauthoritarian Objective Observant
Open Optimistic Orderly Organized Original
Painstaking Passionate Patient Patriotic Peaceful
Perceptive Perfectionist Personable Persuasive Planful
Playful Polished Popular Practical Precise
Principled Profound Protean Protective Providential
Prudent Purposeful Punctual Purposeful Rational
Realistic Reflective Relaxed Reliable Resourceful
Respectful Responsible Responsive Reverential Romantic
Rustic Sage Sane Scholarly Scrupulous
Secure Self-critical Self-defacing Self-denying Selfless
Self-reliant Self-sufficient Sensitive Sentimental Seraphic
Serious Sexy Sharing Shrewd Simple
Skillful Sober Sociable Solid Sophisticated
Spontaneous Sporting Stable Steadfast Steady
Stoic Strong Studious Suave Subtle
Sweet Sympathetic Systematic Tasteful Teacherly
Thorough Tidy Tolerant Tractable Trusting
Uncomplaining Understanding Undogmatic Unfoolable Upright
Urbane Venturesome Vivacious Warm Well-bred
Well-read Well-rounded Winning Wise Witty
Youthful

Neutral Traits

Absentminded Aggressive Ambitious Amusing Artful
Ascetic Authoritarian Big-thinking Boyish Breezy
Businesslike Busy Casual Cerebral Chummy
Circumspect Competitive Complex Confidential Conservative
Contradictory Cerebral Crisp Cute Deceptive
Determined Dominating Dreamy Driving Droll
Dry Earthy Effeminate Emotional Enigmatic
Experimental Familial Folksy Formal Freewheeling
Frugal Glamorous Guileless High-spirited Hurried
Hypnotic Iconoclastic Idiosyncratic Impassive Impersonal
Impressionable Intense Invisible Irreligious Irreverent
Maternal Mellow Modern Moralistic Mystical
Neutral Noncommittal Non-competitive Non-competitive Obedient
Old-fashioned Old-fashioned Ordinary Outspoken Paternalistic
Physical Placid Political Predictable Preoccupied
Private Progressive Proud Pure Questioning
Quiet Religious Reserved Restrained Retiring
Sarcastic Self-conscious Sensual Skeptical Smooth
Soft Solemn Solitary Stern Stolid
Stolid Strict Stubborn Stylish Subjective
Surprising Tough Unaggressive Unambitious Unceremonious
Unchanging Undemanding Unfathomable Unhurried Uninhibited
Unpatriotic Unpredictable Unpredictable Unreligious Unsentimental
Whimsical

Negative Traits

Abrasive Abrupt Agonizing Aimless Airy
Aloof Amoral Angry Anxious Apathetic
Arbitrary Argumentative Arrogant Arrogant Artificial
Asocial Assertive Astigmatic Barbaric Bewildered
Boisterous Bizarre Bland Blunt Boisterous
Brittle Brutal Calculating Callous Cantankerous
Cantankerous Careless Cautious Charmless Childish
Clumsy Coarse Cold Colorless Complacent
Complaintive Compulsive Conceited Condemnatory Conformist
Confused Contemptible Conventional Cowardly Crafty
Crass Crazy Criminal Critical Crude
Cruel Cynical Decadent Deceitful Delicate
Demanding Dependent Desperate Destructive Devious
Difficult Dirty Disconcerting Discontented Discouraging
Discourteous Dishonest Disloyal Disobedient Disorderly
Disorganized Disputatious Disrespectful Disruptive Dissolute
Dissonant Distractible Disturbing Dogmatic Domineering
Dull Easily Discouraged Egocentric Enervated Envious
Erratic Escapist Excitable Expedient Extravagant
Extreme Faithless Fanatical Fanciful Fatalistic
Fawning Fearful Fickle Fiery Fixed
Flamboyant Foolish Forgetful Fraudulent Frightening
Frivolous Gloomy Graceless Grand Greedy
Grim Gullible Hateful Haughty Hedonistic
Hesitant Hidebound High-handed Hostile Ignorant
Imitative Impatient Impractical Imprudent Impulsive
Inconsiderate Incurious Indecisive Indulgent Inert
Inhibited Insecure Insensitive Insincere Insulting
Intolerant Irascible Irrational Irresponsible Irritable
Lazy Libidinous Loquacious Malicious Manner less
Mannered Manner less Mawkish Mealy-mouthed Mealy-mouthed
Mechanical Meddlesome Melancholic Meretricious Messy
Miserable Miserly Misguided Mistaken Money-minded
Monstrous Moody Morbid Muddle-headed Naive
Narcissistic Narrow Narrow-minded Natty Negativistic
Neglectful Neurotic Nihilistic Non-self-critical Obnoxious
Obsessive Obvious Odd Offhand One-dimensional
One-sided Opinionated Opportunistic Oppressed Outrageous
Over imaginative Over imaginative Paranoid Passive Pedantic
Perverse Petty Pharisaical Pharisaical Phlegmatic
Plodding Pompous Possessive Power-hungry Predatory
Prejudiced Presumptuous Pretentious Prim Procrastinating
Profligate Provocative Pugnacious Puritanical Quirky
Reactionary Reactive Regimental Regretful Repentant
Repressed Resentful Ridiculous Rigid Ritualistic
Rowdy Ruined Sadistic Sanctimonious Scheming
Scornful Secretive Sedentary Self-indulgent Selfish
Shallow Short-sighted Short-sighted Shy Silly
Single-minded Sloppy Slow Sly Small-thinking
Softheaded Sordid Steely Stiff Strong-willed
Stupid Submissive Superficial Superstitious Suspicious
Tactless Tasteless Tense Thievish Thoughtless
Timid Transparent Treacherous Trendy Troublesome
Unappreciative Uncaring Uncharitable Unconvincing Uncooperative
Uncreative Uncritical Unctuous Undisciplined Unfriendly
Ungrateful Unhealthy Unimaginative Unimpressive Unlovable
Unpolished Unprincipled Unrealistic Unreflective Unreliable
Unrestrained Unself-critical Unstable Vacuous Vague
Venal Venomous Vindictive Vulnerable Weak
Weak-willed Well-meaning Willful Wishful Zany

Strengths / Talents

Our strengths and talents are the things we are naturally good at.

When we live a life where we are maximizing the strengths and talents that we enjoy, we have a fulfilling life. This gives our lives joy and meaning.

Just because you are naturally good at something does not mean it needs to be part of your life design. You need to pursue the talents that you are interested in, that bring you joy and happiness, that align with your life’s vision and life’s values.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are the things we are not naturally good at. It is generally recommended that you create ways of minimizing your weaknesses, not try to turn weaknesses into strengths. It is a far better use of your time to work on your strengths. Those things that you are naturally good at you will naturally learn faster.

Interests

Interests are simply anything you find interesting. They can range from TV shows you like to items on your long-term bucket list. They can be topics you are interested in, sports, non-fiction books, activities, art, etcetera. It is out of these interests that themes and patterns emerge that can help form your life design.

How Personality Fit Into Your Life Design

Awareness is a powerful thing.

Understanding who you are now and who you need to be to live your vision identifies the gap that needs to be crossed to get to your vision.

Your personality is part of what you need to take into account when determining what your vision for life is and how you are going to go about getting there.

A life path that is congruent with your personality has less friction, brings more of you to your journey, and allows you to grow more as a person.

An effective life design is one that incorporates your personality, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and interests. The parts of your personality become a valuable resource when planning your life design.

When you are living a life aligned with your personality you will be happier and more fulfilled. You will be more motivated to work at sustaining that lifestyle.

When you are working at sustaining the lifestyle you are likely going to start to move your lifestyle to the next level.

Journal Your Personality

Awareness is a powerful thing. Journaling is a method of getting things out of your head and documented. This process requires you to formulate and organize your thoughts. Once in your journal, you will be more aware of who you are.

You might be surprised by what is written. There is a myriad of emotional responses that may come from seeing who you are in written form. Either way, this gives you the starting point for determining who you want to be.

You have a vision for your life and part of that vision is the type of person you want to be. What traits do you need to strengthen, what weaknesses do you need to mitigate, what strengths will serve you the best? These are all questions you need to ask to create your plan to reach your vision, and these questions are rooted in who you are now.

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