Personality Type: Stress Management

Find Your Personality Type vis-a-vis Stress Management


Work Patterns Exercise: Assessing Yourself


For each of the following 10 styles of working there are two statements. If you think the left-hand statement best reflects you then circle the 1. If the right-hand statement is you then circle the 5. Shades of in between are represented by 2, 3 and 4 depending on which you feel closest to. Try and avoid too many 3s. Work as fast as possible.

Style (1) A bit last minute, often rushed and late. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Very punctual, never late.
Style (2) Very competitive. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Relaxed, not too competitive.
Style (3) When others are talking tend to interrupt. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Allow others time to finish what they are saying
Style (4) Try to do many things at once; always thinking of next step. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Take one thing at a time
Style (5) Quick and loud in speech, may bang and shout. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Slow, deliberate talker.
Style (6) Fast mover, walking, eating, driving etc. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Slow, deliberate mover.
Style (7) Hide emotions and feelings; they can be a sign of weakness. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Happy to express emotions and feelings; we are all human.
Style (8) Few interests outside work; do not have time for them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Wide range of interests and social life.
Style (9) Ambitious, eager for promotion. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Enjoy the present; take life as it comes.
Style (10) Feeling good about myself is important- forget what others say. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Like to feel part of teams- other people are important.

Scoring: When you have finished the exercise add up your points in the circles and divide by 10. That is your score. The score will lie between 1 and 5.

Interpretation of your score and how to tune up your personality to manage the stresses:

Score 3: Perfect balanced personality. maintain it.
Score 2.5 to 3.5: You are still in the balanced personality zone. Make sure to maintain your score within this range even if you are not able to achieve a perfect 3 score.
Score below 2.5: You have type "A" personality. Lower scores will mean stronger type "A". You will need to take actions to change from your current type "A" to balanced personality.
Score above 3.5: You have type "B" personality. Higher scores will mean stronger type "B". You will need to take actions to change from your current type "B" to balanced personality.

Action Plan to Maintain Balanced Personality or to Change from Type "A" or Type "B" to Balanced Personality

Refer our post dated October 23, 2008 for this at http://managing-stress-strain.blogspot.com/2008/10/personality-type-stress-management.html

Origin (Genesis) of Stress or Strain

Why Stress or Strain?


People around you (your bosses, colleagues, subordinates, customers, suppliers, spouse, parents, brothers, sisters, your boy friend/girl friend etc and you yourself have some or certain expectations from you.

You wish to fulfil those expectations for many reasons like feel happy, to make others feel happy, for self esteem, to improve your image on others, not become a subject of ridicule, laughter, blame, rejection by others etc. Therefore, your expectation from yourself is one of success and not failure. You want your expectations to be fulfilled.

That is the trigger to stress or strain.

The expectations in themselves do not create stress but it is your concern about the outcome of not being successful. What will happen if I don't succeed? What the people will think of me if I am a failure? Will I be seen as incompetent, will I become a laughing stock? Will people criticize me or blame me? Will some one shout at me? Will my relationship break? Will I lose money? Will I fail in examination? Will I fail in getting a job or a good job?

If you are sure of success, there in no tension and there is no stress. But when, in your own assessment of yourself, you feel that there are chances of partial or complete failure, stresses develop- the intensity and quantum vary.

You become successful when you assess that your capabilities (your knowledge, skills or competencies and your will power to succeed- in short your "human software (HSoftware))" are matching or exceeding the demands made on you by that particular stressful event or activity or situation. Then you meet those challenges and come out as winner. There is no stress or strain.

The links for details on HSoftware: http://humansoftware.blogspot.com/ or http://knol.google.com/k/shyam-bhatawdekar/management-in-life-profession-family/6txz9nck6g3/3#" .

However, when, as per you assessment, your capabilities (the HSoftware) fall short of those demanded by the stressful event, activity or situation and you assess that you may be a failure or are not sure to succeed, the stresses start developing. The intensity and quantum of stresses are directly proportional to the gap between your assessed capabilities and the ones that are demanded by the stressful event, activity or situation.