Difficult Personalities: Do You Identify With One?
Every day we discover new personalities we have to learn to deal with, even if we don’t particularly want to. On occasion, the people around us can turn out to be toxic, and we have to decide whether to let go of them, or choose to be strong enough to not be affected by their personalities.
“At the heart of every personality is the need to feel a sense of being lovable without having to qualify for that acceptance.”
-Paul Tournier-
Maybe you feel identified with one of the personalities that you’re about to discover, or you’ve probably at least been affected by a person with the following characteristics. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to be aware of these personality patterns.
“I know everything.”
You’ve undoubtedly met someone in school or work who is the typical know-it-all; a person who boasts about how easily they can get out of any difficult situation. Within this personality type, there are two categories of people who think, or at least appear to think, that they know everything.
The first of these is the person who doesn’t really know anything, or knows very little, but they claim to be the smartest of them all.
The second of these is the person who is truly intelligent and may know almost everything, but whose eagerness to be better than everyone else makes them selfish and strips them of their humility.
If you’ve come in contact with a know-it-all, you know that they have the tendency to point out other people’s flaws and mistakes. They also like being right all the time, and are constantly seeking other people’s approval.
This attitude, a lot of the time, makes them appear ridiculous even if confident.
People tend to keep know-it-all’s at arms length because it’s humiliating when someone deliberately points out your mistakes; not only to you, but also to everyone else.
“I can’t do anything right.”
The next type of difficult personality is that of those who see everything in black and white, as if there were a black rain cloud hovering over their world. They’re the type of people who never see the positive side of things, but instead only see the obstacles and the barriers in their way.
Pessimism tends to go hand in hand with anger. These people may be discouraged or sad, but usually they appear to be in a constant state of anger with the world around them.
It’s very important not be swayed by this type of personality that can plunge us into deep distress and depression, leading us to see everything with negative eyes.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
-Winston S. Churchill-
If you have been affected by this personality and you feel overcome by their pessimism, surround yourself with people whose optimism never seems to run out. Only then will you be able to see the light after being immersed in such darkness.
“To be, or not to be…that is the question.”
Do you consider yourself to be an indecisive person? Well, then you probably fit into this personality, which has a very hard time making decisions.
Indecisive people are very analytical, but are also very afraid of taking risks. Doubt is always lurking in their minds, keeping them from feeling secure in the choices they make in life.
If you are the type of person who always keeps quiet for fear of the disgruntled look from other people about your opinions, or are always doubting everything in the different areas of your life, you’re being indecisive.
Do you know of any other difficult personalities? What thoughts do you have about these? Whether we are dealing with the traits in others, or we recognize them in ourselves, it’s important to be aware that each has its pros and cons. It’s helpful to know the differences between them, and being aware of how they affect us.