Uniquely Wired

This last Sunday evening, the RBCC Youth made discoveries about ourselves and about each other.    Each of us is uniquely wired with temperament traits that are a natural part of us.  It's the 'why' behind our personality.  It's how we were created and what makes us each unique.  It's a little different from personality, because your personality is how you display your thoughts and feelings.  

Temperament is a person's nature. The temperament traits we are born with effect our reactions and behaviors, along with our background, experiences, and culture.  These traits are with us our entire lives.   Each persons unique temperament traits are not considered good or bad. The more we know about our temperament and what we can know and understand about someone else's temperament, can transform our relationships.  Understanding our temperament traits leads us to understanding others, responding with empathy and choosing compassionate actions.   

In Youth Group we worked at placing ourselves along a spectrum to discover the highs and lows of our unique temperaments.  We did this with tape on the floor and candy bowls of Right Twix and Left Twix to make the High and Low ends of the spectrum.  (why not also discover if you are a Right Twix or Left Twix lover at the same time just for fun!)

The Nine Temperament Traits we worked with are:  
Rhythmicity:        Our regularity or internal drive, how routine we might be.
Adaptability:        How one adjusts or adapts to new situations. 
Intensity:              How strongly one reacts to situations both positive and negative.
Persistence:         How long one is able and willing to stick to a task, even when it's challenging. 
First Reactions:   How cautious or adventurous one is.
Mood:                   The overall tone of a person’s feelings, interactions and behaviors. 
Distractibility:     How easily one is distracted by their environment.  
Sensitivity:           How one is stimulated and reacts to things affecting their senses.
Activity Level:      Our natural activity level, how our energy is used. 

I introduced each temperament trait, we discussed what each might mean, then youth chose either the High or Low end of the temperament spectrum for themselves.  (also getting to collect a right or left Twix)  We used real life examples from home, school, friends, and parent relationships. For example: 
Distractibility, which simply refers to how easily someone is distracted by their environment.  People who get distracted easily my have their attention pulled from the task at hand by ambient noise or other people or interests in the background.  
Youth on the high end of the spectrum of distractibility quickly shift their attention from one thing to another.  They may be very attuned to details but also have a hard time focusing on a singular thing for long periods.  Youth may have multiple tabs open on their computer at once while studying, jumping from topic to topic and new idea to new idea. 
Youth on the low end of the spectrum of distractibility find it easy to get really focused on a task.  They get absorbed in a book or activity even though there is a noisy gathering of people in the same room.  Youth may study with music or the T.V. on without issue. 

Here are the results of our youth group:  
                                                                           DISTRACTABILITY

      High  __X_XX___X_X_________________________________________X_X_________________X__ Low

We had some great moments of self-awareness and some good laughs.  We gained new understanding of each other, both youth and adult leaders.   

We ended our evening playing cards and eating a lot of mini Twix bars both left and right.  
We also tackled this question...where on the spectrum of temperament does Richmond Beach Congregational Church land between pastoral and prophetic?  Wow!!  This was an really interesting conversation with the youth...which you will have to read next time!  

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