I had a great time last Friday presenting for the Walton College of Business Information Technology Research Institute's Women in IT Conference. 

Following are my notes from the presentation.  If you would like more information, please email me at mkw@therapyshare.com. 

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NOTES: How to be yourself! Exploring personality and creative risk taking

Mary K. Williams, LCSW
Psychotherapist

1. Looking at who we are.  At the beginning of life, we had the closest sensation to that of being whole, being one with the universe.  All of our needs were taken care of and we felt a sense of fusion with our caretakers.  Then, almost as soon as we are born, we interact with others, with our environment, and with our own bodies.  All of these interactions cause us to adapt, learn and build “templates” for how life works, how relationships work, and how we are supposed to behave.   In this process we are required to hide or reject important parts of that “whole” self that we were born with.   Allowing those hidden and rejected parts to re-emerge and become part of who we are is an important part of personal growth and getting to know who you are.  Doing this frees up energy that has been dedicated to keeping things out of our conscious awareness.

2. Creativity.  Creativity for the purpose of this discussion is your ability to use all parts of yourself to make something new, express yourself and interact.  Creativity has been widely researched.  It has nothing to do with being smart.  Some concepts related to creativity are connection (of concepts, facts, concrete items, etc.), breaking down of old ways of doing things, making up things that are entirely new, following through with a “product,” making adaptations, changing perspective, thinking deeply.

3. Risk Taking. Again, risk taking behaviors and personalities have been researched and there have been several tests designed to measure risk taking.  There are many aspects to risk taking, including how we assess a risk (we are usually inaccurate and irrational), how much we are “sensation seekers” and how confident we are.  Risks can involve both loss of material goods, loss of control, painful emotions,  failure and rejection, loss of reputation and many other things.  Risk, however, is an important way to stimulate growth and self-knowledge. 

4. Expressive or Reserved?  It is pointed out in David Keirsey’s book Please Understand Me II that we make choices based on our natural preferences, and past successes.  There are 4 major categories of personality, originally explored by Greek philosophers and introduced in modern times by famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung.  The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and its related tests are used to determine how people fall into these 4 larger categories as well as 4 subcategories within each of those 4 larger ones.

The first category is Extravert or Introvert, also known as Expressive or Reserved.

5. Extraverts:  Symbol: The Mouth.  Energized by human interaction.

6. Introverts: Symbol: The Ear.  Energized by solitary time.

7. Observant or Introspective?  The next category is called is Sensory or Intuitive, better described as Observant or Introspective.

8. Observers: Symbol: Eye looking out.  Tendency and strength is to observe the concrete, immediate world – external attention

9. Introspects: Symbol: Eye looking back into head.  Tendency and strength is to pay attention to the inner world, to thoughts, feelings, imagination.

10. Tough-minded or Friendly?  The third pairing of qualities is Thinking vs Feeling, better described as Tough-Minded versus friendly.

11. Tough-mindedness means paying more attention to thoughts, taking more action based on concepts, and being less likely to express feelings.

12. Friendliness refers to paying more attention to emotions, taking more action based on desire or feeling, and more responsive to their feelings and those of others.

13. Scheduling or Probing?  Myers called this pair Judging vs Perceiving.

14. Schedulers are motivated to keep lists, schedules, etc in an effort to bring things to a conclusion.

15. Probers are more attracted to options and prefer not to be tied to a schedule.

16. Artisans: Observant + Probing. Symbol: fox

17. Guardians: Observant + Scheduling. Symbol: beaver

18. Idealists: Introspective +Friendly.  Symbol: dolphin

19. Rationals: Introspective + Tough-minded. Symbol: owl

20.  The Kolbe Test: Your Action Mode. www.kolbe.com

21. Fact finder strength: way of gathering and sharing information. 
Overview - Essential facts - As many specifics as possible

22. Follow through strength: way of arranging and designing
Develop shortcuts and multitask - Detect discrepancies and adjust procedures - Design systems that organize everything

23. Quick Start strength: ways of dealing with risks and uncertainty.
Stick with what already works well - Check things out before trying them - Experiment to see what will happen

24. Implementor strength: ways of dealing with tangibles
Picture how things could work - Keep things working the way they should - Construct tangible solutions

25. BASICS first (Yes, YOU).  We must take care of our basic needs, our basic care, before we can be expected to do serious personal growth work.  Take an inventory of your physical and mental health, and major stressors that you may be putting off facing.

26. Big Points: Your pain is useful... Your past is useful...Embrace new aspects of yourself.  You’ve gotta try…

27. Tips !!!!   Don’t be afraid to trash your project and re-work it over and over again. Surround yourself with inspirational images.   Ritual - Ceremony - Commemoration

28. FORGET  Working for Validation or Approval; Right vs Wrong Decisions; Following how others do things; Your Permanent Record

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