Ingredients of a Personality

photo from fitceleb.com

The slippery question of personality got me thinking …
is telling someone they have a “great personality” an insult or a compliment?  And what do we mean when we say it?

There are 5  basic dimensions of personality that researchers have agreed upon over the last 50 years, each dimensions can be measured on a scale from “a pinch” to “a heap”.  It’s like making a salad, you start out with the greens and then start adding.  Some salads have a few veggies sprinkled on top and others are packed full of every color of the rainbow.  The basic ingredients of our personalities are:

• Extroversion:  are you a chatty social butterfly or a quiet homebody?
• Agreeableness:  are you always helping others,  trustworthy and passing out hugs?
• Conscientiousness:  do you love “to do” lists, organization and setting goals?
• Neuroticism:  are you moody, anxious and have trouble regulating your emotions?
• Openness:  are you imaginative, independent, curious and creative?

Each trait is a continuum of behavior and, of course, your environment makes a big difference in how you react BUT can’t you see yourself right away?  AND this brings me right back to my ‘vibe theory’ and the characters in the 100 Acre Wood who seem to embody each dimension.  Which is particularly interesting since Winnie the Pooh was published in 1926.

So, what is a “great” personality?  
What kind of people do you like to be around?

Of course there is some variation but we all probably can agree that we enjoy being around friendly, outgoing people who care about us and help us out when we need it.  It usually doesn’t hurt if they make us laugh, act spontaneously, are enthusiastic and introduce us to new things.

Most of us probably avoid people who walk around with long to-do lists, always follow the rules, have mood swings and have followed the same routine for the last 10 years.

So how about the library?

• Libraries really have to be conscientious, just like Dewey taught us; a place for everything and everything in it’s place, otherwise they’d just be a pile of books in a room.  Librarians also have to keep the peace so everyone’s slice of library heaven is protected.

• The new library make a huge effort to include extroverted space for people to gather, talk, hear lectures, watch movies and even play games. Some libraries have to have quiet rooms just so us introverts can get away from all the action!

• Libraries have consistently increased their caring quotient - looking for ways that they can help people connect with the services they need to improve their lives...but there is generally not a lot of touchy feelie stuff going on a the library (maybe in the children’s room).  The ‘agreeableness’ quotient comes from the books.

• Openness is the element that I see being the big difference between a library with personality and one without.  Is the library imaginative?  Creative?  Fun?  Inventive?  Culturally open?  Is it willing try new things?    This is the dimension that draws patrons into a library, or any building.  Openness encourages us to relax, play and enjoy the beauty in our world.

So when I think a library has “personality” what I’m really appreciating is it openness to creativity and inventiveness as well as it ability to honestly reflect the unique community it serves.  A library demonstrates this by the environment it creates (inside and outside) and the materials it selects.   For me the others dimensions are minor players.

And when I think of my own personality I could say the same thing - I appreciate myself when I am more relaxed, open and creative, I know I am more fun to be around (even for myself).  For me the challenge is remembering to stay open and relaxed while juggling the busy-ness of each day.