Recovering Type A Personality

By April Elliott

Here is a guest post by our friend April Elliott.

April is a physician and executive coach that produces amazing content.

Please enjoy this.

If you want to hear more from April, here is her website.

For about the last 12 years, I joked with people that I was "in recovery from Type A personality."

When I start that sentence, they hesitate, and when I finish, they smile.

The statement may be amusing (to me), but I now see it is not how it is.

The qualities are not binary, and cultivating the aspects you need to calm your inner critic and perform at your peak in your chosen environment is essential.

When I say that I'm "in recovery", I recognise now that those qualities are very much still within me and come out most days in various ways.

When these features come out, they are often related to wanting to do a stellar job, have integrity and deliver on time what I promised in a contract or consult. Those qualities are excellent to have; it's just about managing them and taking the breath and pause to fully be present and experience things.

In the past, physical injuries usually allowed me to learn some things about slowing my pace down, which is not something I want to continue to do as I age!

Our family also had significant tragedies that led to learning deep meditation and mindfulness skills. Not something one would wish or ask for, but the impetus for many changes in my life.

It's an 'and', not a 'but' AND that 'in recovery', as I used to say, I would be open to new possibilities and ways of doing things but always grasping and holding onto my old ways.

For several years I have been inviting alternative methods and recognising when the old ways or ways I used to do things are over-representing themselves.

I am more aware and choose at that moment to what extent they are serving me and others. I call this ‘dancing with your shadow side’. We all have things that, in more significant amounts, become our vice.

Awareness, insight, reflection and action are critical. 🦋

Continuing to let go of my constant competitiveness with myself and the drive for perfection, I have allowed myself to appreciate the upside of Type A skills and to be competitive without the continuous anxiety and potential burnout.

Instead of saying, "I'm a recovered Type A personality, " I will say, "I have synthesised new ways and skills into this personality over the years and trying to find the best of both worlds in this integration."

Except for its long and boring, less catchy or fun. 😉

Do you relate to this?
Where are you at in your journey of assimilating the skills that serve you and the ones that weigh you down?