In the story of Dorothy and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz the four main characters are:

• The Scarecrow — who wants a brain
• The Tin Man — who wants a heart
• The Lion — who wants courage
  and
• Dorothy — who wants to go home

These are examples of the four main personality types. Which one do you identify with?

• The Scarecrow has the “knowledge seeking” personality. He bases his self-esteem on being competent.
  
  
• The Tin Man has the “identity seeking” personality. He seeks to be “authentic”, and bases his self-esteem on being benevolent.
  
  
• The Lion has the “sensation seeking” personality. He seeks action and the courage to act. He bases his self-esteem on his physical performance.
  
  
• Dorothy seeks the security and comfort of home and family. She seeks to belong, and bases her self-esteem on being dependable.

Ask people to change their character, and you ask the impossible. Just as an acorn cannot grow into a pine tree, or a fox change into an owl, so we cannot trade our character for someone else's.¹

☺

1 The last paragraph here is from David Keirsey Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence (1998). This is the seminal work on the subject of Temperament Theory and is highly recommended.

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