Take a Personality Test? Why?

One of the funnest personality talks I have ever done was to a M.O.P.S. group. It was a talk on, "What is your child's personality". When I was asked to do this talk I started to think about how to present this to Mom's of preschoolers, and came across a site on the Internet that had a description of the 4 basic personality types as Pooh characters. It just got better from there. We had so much fun with that. If you want to check it out here is the link: http://www.half-asleep.com/pooh/interact/quiz/

Anyway, people either love personality tests or hate them. I have had people completely refuse to take them. So before I go any further in looking at personality tests and personality types I want to look at a few of the negatives and positives of taking them.

We will first address the negatives that I have heard or just observed.

1. A personality test puts a person in a box - although there is some truth in this - the bigger truth in my opinion is that you are already in a box so it's better to see what that box is and then see how you can open the sides of the box. In other words, a personality will reveal tendencies you have, everyone already knows and sees those tendencies for the most part anyway so taking a test just may open some blind spots you may have - it also may reveal areas you need to grow in - thus giving you an opportunity to expand your box.
2. A personality test gives people an excuse for bad behavior - I actually agree with this and anytime I give a test I state to my clients, "this is not an excuse for you to say you can or can not do certain things because, "that is not my personality". It is an opportunity to see the areas you are weak in and grow in them. We are all capable of becoming more like the other personality types and becoming a more balanced person. No Excuses!
3. A personality test allows people in authority to manipulate me - Again, there is some truth to this - but the other truth is if someone is well versed in personalities they probably have already figured out your basic temperament and could use that anyway. I feel if you are well versed in temperament (personality) you will know when you are being manipulated.
   

It is like anything else in life, anything good can usually in the wrong hands or with a wrong motive be used in a wrong way. Overall, though, I believe understanding more about yourself and others has a greater potential for good.

Next Post we will explore all the reason you should do a test and which tests I have found to be very effective.

Basic Personality Types

Today we will begin to look at some of the Life Coaching Tools that can help you become more balanced and fulfilled in your life.  As I said in the last post, some will be very familiar, as this one probably is.  Although, I have to say, I have been surprised how many of my clients have never done a personality test or if they did it was many years ago and they couldn't remember what it meant.  

There are many, many different personality tests available.  The next few posts will be focusing on:

• What is the purpose of taking a personality test - the positives and the negatives
• Where do you find a test and what are the differences in them. 
• A thorough review of each of the four personality types 
• The biblical characters that may be the same combination of personality as you and what can you learn from them

So stay tuned, this is one of my favorite subjects so we could be doing this for quite a while. :)

Have a blessed Memorial Day and thank to all who have or are serving in the military to uphold our freedoms.  A special honor to my Dad, George W. Walters, Sr. who was a WWII veteran and served his country with honor.  

Balancing Life

This blog is technically a Life Coaching Blog. It has evolved into a Life Coaching/family/personal blog. I have thought about writing a second blog that is completely about either family or Life Coaching but have decided not to.

Why not? One reason is it is too time consuming but the bigger reason is that in my Life Coaching practice is that in the mist of setting goals and finding purpose I find the greatest help I can be to my clients is to help them find balance in their lives.

Many people, especially women, have a hard time balancing family, work and church. So, at the end of the day everything suffers, especially them. With this blog I try to balance all of those areas. I may have a series that will be more directed toward Life Coaching principles or a few fun posts of family events and always including the spiritual aspect of all of it.

So I am seeing this blog as my way of role modeling what life should look like. It should be a balanced blend of God's Word and principles, practical applications and examining ourselves, working on and changing what behaviors, attitudes or thoughts need to be changed and enjoying our families, our friends and our lives in general.

I am going to start posting for a few weeks, some tools that may be helpful in finding that balance in different areas of our lives. Some will be new and some will be those we are all familiar with but maybe need a reminder. In between, there just may be a very fun thing or event that happens that I will just have to post about along the way. :)

"Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct". Galatians 6:4,5

Mother's Day Thots

Mother's Day is a bitter/sweet day for me.  The bitter part is that my mom is no longer here.  This is the second Mother's Day she has been gone and there is still a little sadness as I enter into the day.  I always encourage anyone who's mom is still with them to take the time and effort to love them, talk to them and take time to be with them, especially if they are getting older.  It is really true that you don't realize what you have until it's gone.  I was blessed to have a wonderful, caring and loving mom.  I didn't appreciate all she was when she was with us and healthy.  I have begun to take interest in many things she loved and so wish she was here to see me embracing the things she loved.  Things like gardening (not that I will ever compare to her), canning, enjoying the grand babies and I'm even considering baking some homemade bread.   I am just blessed that her legacy is living on in me and so many others that she taught and influenced when she was with us. 

But there is also that wonderful sweet part of the day and that is all the sweet things my family did, said and wrote to me.  This Mother's day has been especially wonderful, I guess because we were all together, everyone is healthy, happy and doing well - especially my kids, who as a mom, no matter how old they get I will always be the happiest when they are happy and doing well in their lives. 

So, my Mother's Day began with my hubby taking me out to breakfast, then coming home to my son, Johnny, giving me a bouquet of beautiful roses. 

 Then we went to church and our family gathered together to eat great food, laugh and play games.  My daughter, Debbie, made me the cutest crocheted coffee cup 

and both Johnny and Debbie gave me gift certificates to my favorite places.  We had so much fun playing a new card game and just being together as family.  You just can't ask for a better Mother's Day than that!  I am Blessed!

What is a Life Plan?

A Life Plan is a written list of all your dreams and goals in every area of your life that includes individual action plans on how to achieve them. That is the technical definition. A true Life Plan is so much more than that if the person who is walking you through your Life Plan is guided and anointed by God.

One of the requirements of getting my Life Coaching Certification was that I have a Life Coach of my own. So after much research and prayer I contacted Carolyn Reynolds, a Life Purpose Coach with the school I was becoming certified through. Carolyn was an amazing and insightful Life Coach and has since become my friend, prayer partner and accountability partner.
I have known that Carolyn was not only a Life Purpose Coach but also a Life Plan facilitator and in fact this is an area I am hoping to train in myself at some point. So a few months ago Carolyn and I had discussed her doing my Life Plan and had actually made a date a few months ago. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we had to reschedule and we ended up scheduling for this past week.

As always, God's timing is amazing. If I had done the Life Plan when it was originally scheduled, the outcome probably would have been different. It was a life changing experience. It really isn't so much because of what questions are asked but it was the level of experience and anointing that Carolyn brought into the questions and insights that really made the difference. I'm sure Carolyn would agree with me that the Holy Spirit was leading and directing and giving wisdom.
The Life Plan process takes anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. You go through a series of questions about your past, present and future goals. You look for threads that connect and patterns, either good or bad that flow through your life. And you become aware of areas of mistaken thinking that God reveals you may have allowed to dictate to areas of your life. You then take all that and much more information, and begin to set goals in multiple areas of life and the steps it will take to get there.
This process revealed many things to me but a few that I truly needed to see clearly to move forward in what God has for my life. It has given me a new prospective on my life, a healthier outlook and a new awareness of how God sees my life. It reveals some unhealthy patterns and mistaken thinking that I am determined to change as I replace those patterns and thoughts with God's Word and His thoughts.

If you are in a place of transition, confusion, change or new beginnings I would recommend praying about whether a Life Plan may be that next step for you. Do some research on this or contact Carolyn Reynolds. She does Life Plans for women and her husband does them for men, they also do them for couples. You can contact them at http://www.pathway-partners.com

Kathy Green, Carolyn Reynolds, and me.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New International Version)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.