I did some training recently and as part of that the group were shown a picture of a square and a squiggle and asked which one best described them.
Out of interest, which would you pick?
I went for the squiggle. It seems everyone could quickly choose one or the other, there seemed very little deliberation and debate.
The squares and squiggles then thought about what qualities each had and which of these were positive and negative, the idea being that this would help you to understand others better.
I used this very simple theory to explain to my youngest son (square) why my eldest son (squiggle) didn’t like to make plans in advance and preferred to go with the flow, because I’m a squiggle too and I’m like that. I know I want to go for a run at some point, I just don’t like being tied to running at 3pm because I don’t know how I’ll feel then. I might feel full of energy at 11am and want to go then. Or at 6pm. I prefer to keep my plans loose.
In comparison to this, a square knows that they are going running at 3pm, and run at 3pm they will. Because that’s what they decided to do. End of.
The thing is, neither are right or wrong, just different ways of doing things. Both squiggles and squares are valuable and each bring their own strengths to the table. As the saying goes, if we were all the same, life would be dull.
One thing that does bother me though is that conscientiousness is one of the key traits of successful people, and as a squiggle I don’t always see myself as being as conscientious as I’d like. I would best describe it as learned conscientiousness….it doesn’t come naturally to me but with systems and processes and habits, I’m doing okay… there’s room for improvement though!
Whether you’re a square or a squiggle, or one of the many other personality types that you can work out, the important thing is that you take what you want from it. Focus on the strengths and the positives and what you want to improve. I don’t believe it’s possible to change the fundamental traits of our personality but I do think that being aware of our strengths and the areas we want to improve is the first step in changing them.