Regardless of your personality type, values and behaviors, the journey to achieving a balanced, happy life will be much easier, and much more successful and harmonious if you learn to understand and communicate effectively with the people you meet on your journey. We're talking about finding common ground among the four major personality types: Supportive, Direct, I (ego centered) and Controlling, focusing this time on the ego centered, or I, personality type



The I people of the world create society; they bring together large groups of people into communal relationships. They are the wires, the connectors, the networkers, the energy conduits tying large often diverse groups together. I personalities are butterflies, social butterflies, pollinating and fertilizing, flitting from personality group to personality group. They are the glue that holds people together.

How 'I' (Ego Centered) People See Themselves: The I is always the center of the known (their) universe. Like the D personality they are very direct and like the S personality they are supportive. However, I's focus on themselves, not the ideas of the D. They are supportive like the S personality, but in relationships in which they are the central person. An I's interest in relationships lies in how those relationships support them, not in how they support others. I personalities are the life of the party at which they are both host and a guest. Everything that they do is bigger and better, but always as it relates to building their ego and image. They have little interest in ideas or projects unless those enhance their own egos and well-being.

How Others See I People: The D personality loves the directness of people who are I personalities. The D does not understand I's self-centeredness or their lack of interest in challenges and connectivity with the real world. S's like the fact that I's are supportive people but S's do not understand why their support is only directed at themselves and never toward others. Like the D, the S personality sees the I personality as being self-centered and egocentric. The C personality, being the opposite of the I, has a hard time understanding I's. The conservative and logical C sees I's behavior as illogical and emotional rather than rational.

Other Adjectives to Describe I Personalities

They are described as flamboyant, the life of the party, upbeat, fun to be with, colorful, sloppy in their habits and disorganized, not dedicated, imprecise, impulsive, extroverted, braggarts and team players.

Careers of I Personalities

I's may have a career or profession, but they consider it a position. Despite their success, their work is not necessarily their passion. Often they have positions in sales or in fields where knowing a lot of people, being well-connected, and entertaining are important assets. Their work always places high value on social skills. They are both the party planners and the partygoers of the world. Seeing and being seen, both at work and play, are very important qualities to the career and being of the I personality. For them there is no separation between work and play; it is all part of the social context that surrounds everything they do.

Speech of I Personalities

Never stand close to I's while they are talking because they are very dramatic and bold, both with their words and their body movements. Their arms and hands are in constant motion, as are their vocal cords, and eventually they will hit you. They love backslapping, touching, poking. "I," " me" and other forms of the personal pronoun are abundant in their speech. They have always done more, possess more and know more than anyone else in the room. They are always telling stories that emphasize their importance to the world. They will listen to you only until they can tell a story to top yours. They talk, rather than listen, and always about themselves.

Clothes, Cars and Houses

Guess who drives a fire engine red sports car, has flashy, dramatic clothes and lives in the most socially upscale neighborhood, even if they cannot afford it? Of course it is the I personality. They want the entire world to know them and to know the entire world. They must be seen in order to see others. I's always have the trendiest clothes, the hottest this or that, they dine at the newest up and coming restaurants, they get a new car every year. They are the "in" people; they set the trend in every category of life that is socially measurable.

Values: Family, Money, Relationships and Time

I's love their families and are family-oriented. They know their second and third cousins and know them well. They love large families because it means more people to love them. They love all family parties and reunions and every event or holiday is an occasion for a party. Birthdays, anniversaries, marriages, even funerals are all opportunities to be the center of attention, to tell their stories (again) and jokes (again).

Money is very important to I's as it enables them to maintain and increase their social presence. But money is a means, not an end. It is the means to more and better cars, country club memberships, houses and vacations in all the right places. Money is a tool to open social doors that would otherwise be closed. Because of this attitude, I's often are very careless with money. They are often in debt or are financially overextended. If the money has been used to make or enhance social connections, the debt does not bother them, it is not a problem.

The I personality loves relationships. They are the people at a party who say, "I have told you a lot about me; now let me tell you more about me." Put two I personalities together at a party and both will talk all night, never listening to a word the other one says, but both will leave the party feeling great.

Time is meaningless to I's. They assume you have nothing better to do than to listen to them. They are always late because they just had to do something for themselves or tell someone about themselves. As they have no interest in others, they have no consideration for the time needs or demands of others.