Birth order

This morning, I read an article about birth order and started analyzing our personalities. In a nutshell…

First-borns are natural leaders and often high achievers. They tend to be picky, precise people who pay attention to detail, punctual, organised, and competent. They want to see things done right the first time. They don't like surprises. However, they can be moody and occasionally lack sensitivity or intimidating, particularly by pushing people too hard or refusing to take no for an answer. Sometimes they can be a bit 'know-it-all', and often they are poor at delegating - largely because they don't trust other people as much as they trust themselves. They also tend to be bossy, perfectionists and overly-conscientious.

Middle-Borns tend to be a people-pleasers and usually hate confrontation. Their basic need is to keep life smooth and their motto might be 'peace at any price'. They are usually very calm, will roll with the punches and are amiable, down-to-earth and great listeners. They are skilled at seeing both sides of a problem and eager to make everybody happy. That makes them good mediators and negotiators. They tend to be less driven than first-borns, but are much more eager to be liked - or at least be happy with them. They have a difficult time setting boundaries and can drift into becoming 'co-dependent' as they try to please everybody. They are not good at making decisions that will offend others. They also tend to blame themselves when others fail.

Last-Borns are the world's cheerleaders with strong people skills and love to entertain and talk to others. They make friends easily and immediately make others feel at home. They’re extroverts who get energised by the presence of other people. Last-borns tend to get bored quickly. They have a strong fear of rejection and a short attention span. When the fun stops, they've had enough and want to check out. To some extent they're self-centred. They may harbour unrealistic expectations of finding a relationship that is always fun - and of course, such relationships simply do not last.

As the second born, my personality is obviously very different from my elder brother's. When we were young, he was the model child and I was the rebel. While he produced stellar results, went to the best schools and never gave my parents any problems, I was always in some kind of trouble. His teacher asked to see mum one day. She went to school, wondering what mischief he had gotten himself into, only to hear the teacher singing high praises of his performance and good behavior.

Me? The teacher summoned mum to school because I talked too much or wasn’t paying attention in class.

Needless to say, even as adults, our lives can’t be anymore different. While he is the no-nonsense older brother we all look up to, I’m still the happy-go-lucky younger sister who rolls with the punches. My younger brother? He's the family's cheerleader!