My obsession...Socionics!
For the past 3+ years, I've been absolutely obsessed with a personality type theory that hasn't quite hit the US yet. It's called Socionics and the reason that I've been so obsessed is -- it works. I've found it more useful than just about anything else I've ever learned -- it's up there with arithmetic and the alphabet to me -- and stranger than that, no one else has heard of this, especially when it's so incredibly useful.
I get very passionate about this topic, so please excuse any tangents or rambling. It's hard for me to contain and there is a lot to say.
For of all, ancient personality theory started with Hippocrates in the late 5th century BC -- of course, there were probably other ideas as well, but his were most popular. He introduced the 4 basic types of Sanguine, Choloric, Melancholoic, and Phlegmatic -- he based them on parts of the body such as blood, phlem, etc. and attributed traits like mood to these physical things. He was basically a medical guy. These categories later took on more psychological meaning as others added their two cents.
Unlike Myers-Briggs, this theory can predict who will get along with whom and what the resulting relationship of putting two people together will be. It also explains how we structure our lives, what our greatest strengths are, and how we process information. It does this in a different way that Myers-Briggs, and builds on those previous theories.
It's fascinating because once you understand just a bit of it, you can apply it immediately and see the results. It astounds me that no one I know has heard of this -- for the last 3 years that is, I haven't met a single person who has heard of Socionics, only Myers-Briggs.
There is a very, very small online community of people in the US who discuss this, but for the most part, us Americans have only heard of that "Myers-Briggs" thing. Socionics looks similar to it on the surface, but the theory is much more complex and it matches people together correctly for the most compatible relationships -- in my opinion. This means less conflict in friendships, work relationships, marriages. That means more happiness for people who no longer have to argue all day and suddenly have more time to fulfill life passions -- and compatible people to support them as they venture off towards new goals.
I know this theory WORKS because I have literally typed hundreds of people -- from co-workers at several companies, to all of my ex-boyfriends and dates, to friends, family members, and so on. And just as predicted, no matter how enthusiastic I went into a relationship, Socionics, in the end, always explained the outcome. I even argued against Socionics several times initially, insisting that any two healthy types can form a great relationship -- only to watch the relationship fall apart many months later.
It has explained not only relationships, but the dynamics of different social groups (quadras), and why you might not feel comfortable around certain types of groups and be at home in others. It explains why some types of thinking seem foreign to you, and some types of emotional expression seem wrong, while others seem right -- and this is all subjective based on the type you're viewing the world from.
I use some of the general ideas in Socionics several times a day -- from understanding why that "annoying" person over there even has friends (because their relationship to one another is compatible, where as mine to theirs is not), to understanding why someone is explaining something in a way that seems so wrong to me (their thinking process is focused on universal systems, where as mine prefers case-by-case assessments, and that makes them appear sterotypical and closed minded to me, where as they think I'm missing the point), etc.
I very quickly notice if someone is living in the present-moment and creating a comfortable environment, versus bouncing out-there ideas off the walls. This makes it easier to understand why I'm having to listen to the fine detail of what color of polka dots were on an umbrella, when I prefer to get the general idea of it and quickly find out what it means in a universal way -- are dots a new fashion trend? To a present-moment physical environment person it doesn't matter -- the dots and their color matter because they were there and they saw them, end of story.
In addition, with my clients, I find this theory to be useful. I find out the personality types of my Life Coaching clients and their preferences. This helps me not only relate better to them and understand them more so that my coaching is more effective -- but also to help them find the most compatible work and relationships.
I think the biggest barrier so far has been the incorrect idea that Socionics and MBTI are the same thing. If people actually understood the far-reaching positive ways Socionics could be used to improve and understand each other, as well as finding more compatible relationships and satisfying work, I think it would be very, very big in the US as well as the countries where it is currently popular -- such as in Russia and some parts of Europe. Most of the Socionics materials available are machine translated from Russian and very hard for English speakers to read. Though, some kind people online who speak Russian do sometimes translate articles for our American audience.
I really don't think there's any stopping it. Give it 20 years for the MBTI to be overturned -- Socionics takes it a huge step forward.
I get very passionate about this topic, so please excuse any tangents or rambling. It's hard for me to contain and there is a lot to say.
For of all, ancient personality theory started with Hippocrates in the late 5th century BC -- of course, there were probably other ideas as well, but his were most popular. He introduced the 4 basic types of Sanguine, Choloric, Melancholoic, and Phlegmatic -- he based them on parts of the body such as blood, phlem, etc. and attributed traits like mood to these physical things. He was basically a medical guy. These categories later took on more psychological meaning as others added their two cents.
- sanguine -- a people-oriented, impulsive, fast person with rapidly changing responses (later called "popular")
- phlegmatic -- more easy-going and slower-paced person (later called "peaceful")
- choleric -- confident, aggressive person who gets results (later called "powerful)
- melancholic -- task-focused and slower-paced (later called "perfectionist"
Unlike Myers-Briggs, this theory can predict who will get along with whom and what the resulting relationship of putting two people together will be. It also explains how we structure our lives, what our greatest strengths are, and how we process information. It does this in a different way that Myers-Briggs, and builds on those previous theories.
It's fascinating because once you understand just a bit of it, you can apply it immediately and see the results. It astounds me that no one I know has heard of this -- for the last 3 years that is, I haven't met a single person who has heard of Socionics, only Myers-Briggs.
There is a very, very small online community of people in the US who discuss this, but for the most part, us Americans have only heard of that "Myers-Briggs" thing. Socionics looks similar to it on the surface, but the theory is much more complex and it matches people together correctly for the most compatible relationships -- in my opinion. This means less conflict in friendships, work relationships, marriages. That means more happiness for people who no longer have to argue all day and suddenly have more time to fulfill life passions -- and compatible people to support them as they venture off towards new goals.
I know this theory WORKS because I have literally typed hundreds of people -- from co-workers at several companies, to all of my ex-boyfriends and dates, to friends, family members, and so on. And just as predicted, no matter how enthusiastic I went into a relationship, Socionics, in the end, always explained the outcome. I even argued against Socionics several times initially, insisting that any two healthy types can form a great relationship -- only to watch the relationship fall apart many months later.
It has explained not only relationships, but the dynamics of different social groups (quadras), and why you might not feel comfortable around certain types of groups and be at home in others. It explains why some types of thinking seem foreign to you, and some types of emotional expression seem wrong, while others seem right -- and this is all subjective based on the type you're viewing the world from.
I use some of the general ideas in Socionics several times a day -- from understanding why that "annoying" person over there even has friends (because their relationship to one another is compatible, where as mine to theirs is not), to understanding why someone is explaining something in a way that seems so wrong to me (their thinking process is focused on universal systems, where as mine prefers case-by-case assessments, and that makes them appear sterotypical and closed minded to me, where as they think I'm missing the point), etc.
I very quickly notice if someone is living in the present-moment and creating a comfortable environment, versus bouncing out-there ideas off the walls. This makes it easier to understand why I'm having to listen to the fine detail of what color of polka dots were on an umbrella, when I prefer to get the general idea of it and quickly find out what it means in a universal way -- are dots a new fashion trend? To a present-moment physical environment person it doesn't matter -- the dots and their color matter because they were there and they saw them, end of story.
In addition, with my clients, I find this theory to be useful. I find out the personality types of my Life Coaching clients and their preferences. This helps me not only relate better to them and understand them more so that my coaching is more effective -- but also to help them find the most compatible work and relationships.
I think the biggest barrier so far has been the incorrect idea that Socionics and MBTI are the same thing. If people actually understood the far-reaching positive ways Socionics could be used to improve and understand each other, as well as finding more compatible relationships and satisfying work, I think it would be very, very big in the US as well as the countries where it is currently popular -- such as in Russia and some parts of Europe. Most of the Socionics materials available are machine translated from Russian and very hard for English speakers to read. Though, some kind people online who speak Russian do sometimes translate articles for our American audience.
I really don't think there's any stopping it. Give it 20 years for the MBTI to be overturned -- Socionics takes it a huge step forward.
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Find out more about Life Coaching. I'm a NYC Certified Life Coach serving professional, ambitious clients.
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