It doesn't have to be All or Nothing

Here’s the thing.  I’m not really a fan of putting any person into a particular *box.*  I know these days it feels like things are getting more extreme and polarized by the minute and I definitely don’t want to be adding any fuel to that fire.  

So I just want to take a minute here to acknowledge what I mean when I say my Meal Planning Workshop is for those who consider themselves to be B-Type personalities.  

When investigating the research behind A and B Type personality testing, I learned that those who identify themselves as ‘B-Types’ are just simply ‘non-type A,’ in other words - everything that a Type-A is not.  And they probably acknowledge it in this way because Type-A’s are very easy to identify.  They’re: 

• High-achievers
• Determined to succeed
• Highly competitive
• Goal oriented
• Concerned with time management
• Ambitious

By glancing at this list you yourself probably know immediately whether you’re a Type-A or not.  And it looks pretty appealing to fall into the A-type category but that may not be so.

There are supposedly a couple other types (Type D and T) but they’re not that common.  So for simplicity sake - I’ll just stick to A and B because I also like the duality aspect of this topic.  

So to confirm - if you know very well that you do not identify as a Type-A then guess what - you’re a Type B!  And that means you typically embody these kind of attributes:

• Easy going
• Relaxed 
• Go with the flow
• Flexible
• Creative 
• Procrastinator 

Sounds like a pretty good list right?  Well, except the procrastinating part… which is what makes me wonder whether it’s really a great idea to submit to staying in this category.  

The thing is - I myself would consider myself a pretty solid B-Type - until recently.  In the last few years, specifically since taking an intentional and concerted effort in improving myself and my mindset, I feel like I’ve adopted more traits from the A-Type (the positive ones).  

However - it has been the general consensus in the world of psychology that in fact no, a personality does not change.  For the longest time, researchers found that traits are inborn and they stay stable over time.  The good news is that more recent research is finding that “personality traits CAN change through persistent intervention and major life events” according to this University of California article. 


So what does this mean?  Well I consider it to be good news because of the following: if we’re looking at personalities from the A and B perspective then we can see how there are positive and not-so-positive attributes from either end.  And if humans are (for the most part) *categorized* under either A or B but they want to improve themselves for the better, they’ll likely need to learn how to adopt some of those more positive traits from the other end of the spectrum.  It is nice to know that with persistent effort this is possible!


Further, I myself am proof that this change can happen.  I knew I was once undoubtedly a B-Type but I just scored an assured A-Type score on a personality test (I took twice to confirm!)  That’s pretty mind-blowing to me.  Funny thing is, if you were to ask anyone who knows me well which category they think I fall into, I’m pretty sure most people would still classify me as a B.  Which is pretty cool, I think!


It’s kind of the same thing that happened to this journalist who did a very focused study on herself to see if she could change her personality.  She recounts her process in this interesting and funny article in The Atlantic and sums up her result in this line:

“The key may not be in swinging permanently to the other side of the personality scale, but in balancing between extremes”


I like this.  Because at the end of the day, whoever you are and whichever *box* you fit into, there are always some positives and not-so-positives and it’s only up to YOU to decide what you like or dislike about you and whether you want to change it.  It doesn't have to be All or Nothing.


To finish, if there are any B-Types out there reading this and want to get into the habit of procrastinating less, perhaps achieving a little bit more, then consider signing up for my Meal Planning Workshop (one of the ways of learned to embody more of my A-side :)  The next one is happening on Saturday April 22nd.  Check this page for more info and registration.


It’s a great way to exercise that forward-thinking part of your brain without totally abandoning your chilled out, go-with-the-flow, good-naturedness.  And you end up eating a lot of yummy, healthy food!