Inner Heroes adds another layer to understanding social and emotional learning. The idea of classifying individuals according to four main personality types is not a new idea. The eminent physician Hippocrates described four dispositions or temperament – choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic and sanguine – as long ago as the fifth century B.C. In the modern era, Carl Jung’s landmark work Psychological Types reaffirms the ancient belief in fixed patterns of behavior.
According to Jung, each of us is born with a particular basic personality and our goal is not to be like anyone else, but to become our “best self.” Despite its powerful influence, Jung’s typology was not adaptable to everyday use until the relatively recent development of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which sparked a renewed interest in personality theory.
Psychologist, Dr. David Keirsey, in his book Please Understand Me, explains the relationship between the four temperaments and the sixteen Myers-Briggs Types. Don Lowry further simplified the 4 temperaments with True Colors and the concept of how the temperaments experienced self-esteem differently. Carolyn Kalil wrote the first True Colors book, Follow Your True Colors To The Work You Love, which has an updated title Follow Your Inner Heroes To The Work You Love. This book helps people match their natural gifts and talents to the work they love.
Jung recognized the universality and diversity among people with these fixed patterns regardless of age, gender, or race. These temperament patterns have proven to be universal in their content and language not only in the US but with cultures worldwide since the 1980’s.
Jung also recognized that the differences in how we approach life can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. Inner Heroes and Self-Emotional Learning support teaching people that understanding, accepting, and appreciating differences can unite us rather than divide us.
The need to understand these fixed patterns in the four different hero types that show up in families, classrooms, and cultures will be addressed here although this is true of any context that involves people.
Families and the environment have the most impact on the social and emotional development of their children. Therefore, the need for both emotional and social awareness begins with parents. Inner Heroes teaches parents to become self-aware of their own personality strengths, uniqueness, and parenting style.
Once parents understand who they are, they need to understand each child that has similar personality traits, as well as, the children who have different personality traits. Parents are compatible with children who are more like them because they share the same values. Many of the challenge occurs with children in the family who are different from the parents.