This is a million-dollar question, and once you can answer it, you are halfway there to understanding the human being called ‘YOU.’
Why Do We Need To Know Who We Are?
When we know who we are, we will understand why we respond to the world differently. Our responses could be based on many factors; the way we were brought up, things we see in the movies or the media, peer pressure, or knowledge gleaned from everyday human interactions.
It is these factors and much more that defines who we are. Unfortunately, some of the factors are out of our control, but many others can be harnessed differently to affect who we are and who we eventually become. As they often say, knowledge is power, so knowing who you are can only bring you the freedom you need to appropriately respond to the world.
Why Do People Respond To Things Differently?
A few years ago, I discovered teachings on Temperaments. This teaching helped me to understand why I respond to things differently. We respond to the world uniquely based on innate biological behaviors. These behaviors are what some psychologists refer to as temperaments. People have different characters, and because of this, it is important not to define them by our preconceived single narratives. This single narrative has caused some people to feel they can never measure up. If we continue to follow the single narrative ideology, we will inadvertently empower more people to become bullies to act out their hate crimes. It is not all about our differences but in learning how to accept boundaries of safety.
What are Temperaments?
Temperaments are consistent differences in behaviours. They are biological in nature and independent of learning. The values and attitudes are innate so it is something we are born with. Temperaments can be negative or positive depending on context and environment.
Understanding who you are is important. It can give you an idea of how you respond to things and people. Our temperament influences how we respond to our external environment, so we must learn to identify and understand them.
In a layman’s terms, there are four temperaments.
- Sanquine
- Choleric
- Melancholic
- Phlegmatic
If you want to read more, please check out the book by Tim LaHaye – The Spirit Controlled Temperament. He tries to unpack it a bit more and gives guidance on what can be done to scale through relationship hurdles. This book really helped me, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how they respond to external stimuli.
Where you can get the book:
https://www.koorong.com/product/spirit-controlled-temperament-tim-lahaye_0842362207