Welcome to Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers. Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about.  Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post. Today’s word is initiative……  I’d love to have you link up, and if you do, please remember to follow my six simple rules.

WednesdayWordInitiative
 

Initiative – the power or opportunity to do something before others do;
the energy and desire that is needed to do something
~ Merriam-Webster

 

 

While thinking about the direction I wanted to take this post, I couldn’t get birth order and personality traits, and how those affects an individual’s initiative out of my mind.  I had some thoughts on where I fit into all this, but decided to do a little research to see if I was on the right track.

I am one of two children, and my older brother is type A – nothing surprising there.  I am a typical second child, yet have so many of the type A traits, and that surprised me.  I’m no student of personality testing, so what do I know…

I dug around and found a few articles which suggested that I had both type A and type B personality traits, and was nowhere near either type C or type D.  One of those article led me to this test to determine if I just might be a type AB. 

TypeATypeBCartoon
 

I took the test with a possible score of between 35 and 380.  The higher the score the more likely you’re type A.  I scored 236 which makes me type AB with tendencies of behaving more like a type A than B.

So what does all of this have to do with initiative, and more importantly, running? 

Type A people tend to be ambitious, goal oriented, and ready to take charge.  They are very organized and tend to make lists to make sure everything gets accomplished.  In other words, they take the initiative to get things going and make things happen.  And even though they are happy to help others, they are very competitive.

Type B individuals are more relaxed and laid back, and have the ability to enjoy life at a slower pace, thus often procrastinating.  They are planners, but don’t freak out if things don’t go exactly as planned, and don’t necessarily see the need to take initiative when someone else will do the job.  Type B’s are often the life of the party, fun to be around, and rarely see the need to be particularly competitive.

Bringing this back to running… 

So… in my opinion, what’s the difference between type A and B runners, and how do I think this might affect their initiative? 

 

Type A Runners (showing lots of initiative):

  • Very competitive
  • Have organized and succinct training plan
  • Participate in speed workouts
  • Set time goals
  • Race regularly
  • Rarely miss a run
  • Will schedule life around running
  • More likely to continue running when injured

 

Type B Runners (showing less initiative):

  • Run for fun
  • Run without a given plan
  • Don’t worry about pace
  • Rarely race
  • Might not remember their race finish time
  • Don’t stress about missed runs
  • Will stay at a party even if it means missing the next morning’s run

 

I am definitely a type A runner, and my guess would be that most of the runners reading my blog and/or writing their own would tend to be type A as well.  As for the rest of my life, I’m a pretty healthy mix…

 

What personality trait are you, and how does that influence your initiative?

 

Grab My Button!

Deb Runs


Next Wednesday’s Word:  Focus