Having a type A personality can be viewed as both an asset and a drawback to some people. Type A personalities are often characterized as being competitive, impatient and being high-achievers. All personality types can have their advantages and disadvantages. If you have a type A personality that you want to balance out or you know someone with that specific personality type, keep reading for some easy ways to adapt and accommodate!
Those who are involved with someone with a type A personality will probably tell you that their partner often gets so focused on work that they end up neglecting their personal relationships. If you see this happening in your life, use your proven methods of getting things done in your professional life with friends and family! You don’t have to set up conference calls or make Powerpoint presentations but using best practices like setting reminders to call or make plans with friends is a great way to use your type A personality strengths to reach out to others!
One of the more challenging ways to balance a type A personality is to be open to compromising with others regularly. I consider myself as someone with a mix of all the different personality types, but I definitely have some serious type A traits! I try my best to be accommodating and do what’s best for everyone, but I often find my type A personality wanting to take over and do things my own way! When I find myself feeling this way, I make myself take a step back, breathe and try to see things through the eyes of others before reacting.
If you’re looking for a way to balance a type A personality or get along better with someone that personality type, try to talk things out. What might initially seem like a waste of time could provide the two of you with a peaceful resolution where both parties end up feeling better and listened to. It can be hard to understand why a person feels a certain way or why they do what they do, but communicating your feelings provides an outlet. Talking will allow both of you to voice concerns and maybe even gain some insight into what’s going on with the other person!
Type A personalities often feel as if they’re under time constraints with everything they do and frequently multi-task like bosses. Because of this constant feeling of urgency to complete tasks, type A personalities can easily forget to make eye contact with others and appear aloof. Make it a point to look at people in the eye when you’re interacting with them, no matter how trivial the conversation. Doing this shows that you’re giving the other person your full attention and not on pending tasks!
Another way to balance a type A personality is to face your fears. It probably sounds horrible but it's not as bad as it sounds. Facing fears forces you to take a good, hard look at what could possibly happen if you didn’t meet your list of umpteen things to accomplish. While it can be an extremely uncomfortable thing to do, you’ll probably find that it’s not the end of the world! Try doing something unorthodox for you like taking the long way home from work and see if that extra time really hindered you from anything.
Type A personalities frequently feel stressed from all their tasks and deadlines and stress can definitely take a toll on your mind and body. One way to combat stress while learning more about yourself is to keep a journal. It might some cheesy, but journaling can help you identify stressors, triggers to losing your temper and also help you come up with possible solutions to problems. Being able to learn about what bothers you can help you avoid situations that don’t fare well with your personality.
Trying to help someone with a type A personality relax is probably one of the most challenging ways to balance a type A personality. Most people with type A personalities have a difficult time relaxing because they’re constantly thinking. If you have a friend or boyfriend who has a type A personality, help them to learn how to unwind. They might view relaxing as a total waste of time or money but they’re going to make themselves sick with all this work and stress! There are tons of things like playing sports, exercising or reading that can help calm the mind and body, just lead the way!
The type A personality is just like other personality types with strengths and weaknesses. Instead of focusing on trying to change someone or make them see things your way, learn to work with what motivates them and compromise! I know, it’s easier said than done but all of our different personality types is what makes life interesting! So, although it might challenging to work with various temperaments, you might find that they’re not so different from you!
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