Thursday 22 November 2007

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!

11 comments:

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

What about being an only child like me? LOL!

If I go by the first born section, it sure does sound like me ... LOL!

WaterLearner said...

Hi,

Somewhat right. But somewhat nor so accurate also.

I am also a middle child. I hate confrontations. Especially with my love ones. I can't bare seeing my parents not happy. Among the three of us, I am the closest to my parents.

My elder brother has always been a natural leader. Since primary school, he has been a head prefect and even also in Secondary school. He was also one of those better performing ones when he was enlisted in the army to be selected as officers.

My small sister though .. is far from a cheer leader. Being four years younger than me, she is however much more no-nonsense and at times very much more direct and sarcastic than me. Hee Hee, sometimes when we talk to each other, for people who just listen to our conversation and not see us in person, they would very likely mistake her to be my elder sister instead!

Anonymous said...

I guess I am the "cheerleader" LOL

Blur Ting said...

Oh Nick, I found something about only-bornd!
Positives: Only-borns are the mega-movers of the world. They are task-orientated; tend to be extremely well organised, highly conscientious and dependable. They are keen on facts, ideas and details and feel extremely comfortable with responsibility.

Negatives: The negative characteristics of only-borns can be tough to handle. They are often unforgiving, very demanding, hate to admit they're wrong and usually don't accept criticism well. To others, they seem very sensitive and indeed, their feelings are easily hurt.

Blur Ting said...

Water - You're like me! Stuck in the middle and my younger brother is 4 yrs younger! We were closer as kids and would gang up and rebel against my older bro. Of course the 2 of us always get into allkinds of mischief together too!

Blur Ting said...

JY - But you're indeed the cheerleader!!

Amel said...

He he he he he...I'm a first-born but I don't push people too hard, I think...do I? I don't think so...

My brother, as a last-born, is definitely a cheerleader and extrovert hi hi hi hi...;-D

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

BT, now that really sounds like me ... LOL! Thanx for looking it up.

Unknown said...

oh so true...^_^

Amel said...

Hi, Blur,

Go grab UR award here:

Best Blogging Buddies Award

Blur Ting said...

Hey Amel, but I think the part about being precise, paying attention to detail, punctual, organised, competent and overly-conscientious sound like you!

Thanks for the award!

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