The Helper/Giver

So I have a friend who has a strong psychology background and he gave me these cassette tapes to listen to that are a recording of a counseling class he took that talked about the six different personality types. That sentance was really really long. =)

He gave me the tapes because he pegged me right from the start as a Helper/Giver personality type. I listened to them and oh my goodness!! Not only am I totally a Helper/Giver, but I'm like the biggest Helper/Giver to ever exist!!! It was amazing to sit and listen to this instructor define me so well! He could spout off exactly what I think and what I do and why I do it. It was remarkable.

Now the premise behind this study was that each personality type has very good points...but that there's dangers behind them as well. The fact that the comfort of the behaviors is our retreat that we hide in. To get really philosophical on you for a second...the idea is that we all have an innate fear that drives us and our personality type dictates our behaviors and how we deal with that fear. The Helper/Giver in essence is afraid of being alone, and so helping and giving is our way of feeling needed and wanted.

The funniest thing he said (funny, but absolutely hideous), was that when a Helper/Giver walks into a room full of people, what's going on in his or her mind is, "Wow, these people need me. They really need me. They don't know they need me, but they do!" It's so true! I may not say those exact words, but that's what I'm thinking. The Helper/Giver spots from a mile away the person that needs help...and we gravitate to that person. We sense peoples needs before they even know what they need. This sounds good..but ultimately he said we are terrorists. We hold people emotionally hostage. We put them in a spot where they have no choice but to need us and ask for our help.

The whole psychology of behavior and personality really fascinates me.