“Knowing yourself is the beginning of
all wisdom.”
This statement first recorded by Aristotle, one of the greatest of the ancient Greek philosophers,
in the 4th century BC, has stood the test of time, and is as
relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.
You can only begin to know
yourself after you have begun to understand your own personality. Without this
knowledge, you can never ever succeed to fully be the person you should be.
Personality
is often characterized as the internal philosophy
of the person. It essentially determines who he is, and how he sees the world
around him. it is made up from components of all the thoughts, beliefs, ideas
and passions that he experienced along his road of life, and is reflected in everything
he chooses to think and do throughout his life. Although there have been a multitude
of descriptions offered, they all refer to a pattern of relatively permanent characteristics
and traits which provides and ensures the uniqueness, predictability, and
consistency in the person’s behavior.
The
ancient Greek and Roman philosophers were convinced that all the personality
types can be included under one of four distinct and easily recognizable categories
which were directly traceable to the four main bodily functions they called Humors. Led by the great Greek
philosopher, Hippocrates, they
believed each type of personality was developed from the humor that was
dominant at birth, and that the individual’s subsequent appearance and behavior
reflected this pattern throughout his life. He categorized them into:
Yellow Bile, (Choleric) the dominant,
confident, energetic and
passionate individual, quite often extroverted.
Black Bile, (Melancholic), the thoughtful, brooding and sensitive
introvert who is usually idealistic
and a perfectionist and
often angry and suspicious.
Phlegm,
(Phlegmatic), the relaxed, calm and controlled, consistent,
stable and loyal person who was trusted,
friendly, and
usually peace-loving.
Blood,
(Sanguine), the generally lively,
optimistic, creative, and
carefree person, often adventurous and willing to take
chances.
Although this
classification is no longer acceptable with current psychologists, the basic grouping
and the descriptions for each remain unchanged and readily identifiable.
A variety of tests and questionnaires have been devised to
identify and predict the individual’s make-up and behavior, but all of these
are only as useful as the individual’s own assessment. He must begin by
recognizing his personal values, the
ideas that shape all his decisions. These form the framework of his thinking
and his actions and without them he is at the mercy of circumstances. He must
also be conversant with his inner
passions, which provided the focus for all his actions. In addition he must
also be willing to honestly review and acknowledge his strengths and weaknesses and concentrate on the former to
ensure success. Equally, he must be aware of the response of others and be willing to compare them with your own, if
only to assess whether he is truly achieving his desired
goals. These are the hallmarks by which a person is able find his true self,
and to be the best he can possibly be.
The
ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu very
correctly explained the fundamental purpose of understanding oneself when he
wrote:
“Knowing is intelligence; knowing
yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”
-Without question, no one can ever hope to achieve
any level of recognition or success without first fully understanding and
mastering his own personality.
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