Almost a full month ago I finished up Personality Plus For Couples. This was one of the two books that Flor and I were encouraged to read as part of our pre-marital counseling back in October when we met with our Pastor, Scott Peterson. Both Flor and I really enjoyed reading this book as we were able to discuss it all the way through. I think we both really enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half though. The second half was a grind of a read. I'm not sure if it was any one reason it just didn't seem that helpful to the subject matter; it seemed to only be there to take up space.The premise of the book, though a little overly general, was to demonstrate that there are four main personality types that all people fit into to some degree. It's pretty much impossible to to be 100% of any of the four types though so the book comes with a nicely developed but not to long test to determine what percentage of each type you and your mate are. There are combinations that are somewhat normal and there are combinations that don't occur very often... as it played out I was one of the weird types. I tend to be passive, reserved, and introspective (Phlegmatic) and "gettr done", take charge, lets start a project type (Choleric). These two types naturally repel one another so it's strange to tend to be both.
Flor ended up being Phlegmatic and Melancholy, or one who tends to be a perfectionist, a more normal combination. Anyway, it was fun learning about these different types and labeling ourselves and our friends in their respective types. We also found joy in learning that both of us are predominantly Phlegmatic, which bodes well for us having a peaceful relationship together. I also have tendencies to get things done so I'll keep us moving forward but Flor has tendencies to do things right so she won't ever let me do a shabby on anything.
The book was nice to learn what tendencies people of various types have and it was nice to see what needs people of the various types have so that we can be aware of what to expect for each other, how to deal with each other, and how to better care for one another.
Again the second half of the book went more into specific circumstances for various combinations of people looking at specific stories. All of the stories however seemed pretty much the same and very lame. They all revolved around friction in a couples relationship and how it was repaired through the very knowledge of the personality types. This was pretty campy in my opinion as every story seemed exactly the same and there was no real work that was taken in any situation to fix the underlining problem. There were some bright spots through it and a few of the stories were entertaining as well as informative but a future reader would be more than fine just reading the first 120 pages of this book and then putting it down.
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