This post might seem random, but it’s been on my mind a lot lately. As I posted last week, May is Mental Health Month. When I worked in public health, I talked about mental health more. I strongly believe mental health is critical, and sharing stories is equally as important.
Honestly, until recently, different personality types weren’t even something I knew existed.
This is more personal than many of my usual shares but something I feel strongly about.
How does a type B personality relate to mental health?
Recently I came to terms with I have a “Type B personality.” It feels as though everyone says they have a Type A and that you need to have a type-A personality to be successful. You need to be competitive and want to go further, stronger, and be more successful than your peers. If you don’t, well, you are a failure.
This is probably an exaggeration, but we do live in a society people see more as better.
A society where having a singular focus is the “key to success.” Whether your focus is work, family, money, sports, or whatever, it’s easy to get into that singular mindset.
For a very long time, I thought I needed to as well. I thought I needed to love one thing or be “all in on one thing.” I believe that saying you have a “type A personality” also comes from not knowing there are actually many personality types. I didn’t really learn that until recently, either. Each personality type is different and can be successful. Type B personalities can be successful, just like Type A, C, and D.
Over the last decade and since college, I’ve gotten things done. I work hard, but I’ve never been that “intense of a person.” I don’t love going all in for things. Maybe that’s why I don’t love the marathon; I don’t love going all in for one race. I want to enjoy other things and other hobbies in addition to running.
This isn’t related to running either. I enjoy a lot of things. In high school, I didn’t have a “college I was set on.” I would have probably enjoyed most of the colleges I was accepted to. Then in college, I enjoyed various classes, from math to modern dance to backpacking, and there was never a specific topic I wanted to know everything about everything. Trust me; it’s hard to pick a major when you like a lot of things.
I would see peers who loved one thing. They had one goal race. They loved one topic. They wanted to live, breathe, and sweat one thing, but that was never me. Often I tried to force myself to be “all in” with something, but it made me more miserable, anxious, and honestly depressed. I hated it.
This isn’t to say a Type B Personality makes you wishy-washy or lazy. If I were in a group project, I would get things done, but I would be fine doing them someone else’s way. I wouldn’t feel the need to “be in charge.” For the longest time, I thought there was something wrong with that.
Recently I came to terms with a Type B personality that is just as good as Type A, C, or even D. Yes, there are many different types of personalities, but no one seems to realize this or talk about it.
You can learn all about different personality types here.
What are a few characteristics of a Type B personality?
- Enthusiasm
- Fun-loving
- Friendliness
- Charismatic
- Lighthearted
- People-oriented
- Spontaneous
- Faster-paced
What is my point of this post? Maybe it relates to you. Maybe you’ve felt this way and have felt like there is “something wrong” because you can’t relate to being “type A.” That’s okay; a reminder I have is this: only you live your life and know what makes you happy. You don’t need to live life to what others think or believe you should be.
Question for you: What type of personality do you think you have?
This is really interesting thanks for sharing! Turns out I’m a Type C personality!
Thank you for reading! It’s interesting, who knew there were so many different types of personalities?