5 Types of People

I understand that generalities tend to miss the mark at times because of exceptions that arise, but typically they fit for the majority of people in the bell curve according to the natural psychology of how we interrelate. Having said that…

I want to share some info I found among my readings. I liked it because it helped release me from a false obligation to operate like other people. What I mean is that I can accept the personality He gave me and enjoy the manner in which I process events, activities, information and/or interactions.

There are 5 types of people:
People persons, Things people, Knowledge people, Places people, & Action people.

~ People persons tend to care about who. They talk about people, friends, famous people, and dislike being alone.
~ Places people tend to talk about where they’ve traveled & their homes. They take pride in their space, gardens, offices, & want them neat or well appointed.
~ Action people tend to hate sitting around. They like feeling the rush of activity. They talk about hobbies, sports, or their recreation time.
~ Knowledge people tend to value the why and what of information. They talk about books, things they’ve studied, or courses they’ve taken.
~ Things people tend to care about accomplishments, money, status, and power. They talk about possessions, businesses, houses.


How we process information or go about relating to others seem to typically fall within our dominant category. Understanding that we are different in our perspectives can give us the permission to allow others to see things differently or conduct themselves with freedom and flexibility instead of condemnation for non-conformity – “Why can’t you get your act together and be like the rest of us? Why do you have to be different? You aren’t acting according to my understanding of what a Christian is supposed to be!”


For instance:
Satisfying the desires of my heart:
Since I was a kid I was raised on stories of missionaries in Africa and other places around the world. As an action person I am not consumed with meeting the king of Swaziland or David Livingstone, or working with a specific tribe like a people person might be. Neither am I consumed with being in Africa nor ‘called’ to a specific country like a places person might be (although I would like to visit). I am not concerned about raising up a large church or starting a movement or being called “missionary” like a things person might.

There is nothing wrong with any of that. We are each motivated differently as diverse people types. God has created variety. I am motivated by doing. As an action person I am consumed with satisfying the “fire burning in my bones.”

Here’s another example of how different people types go about fulfilling their design:
Pleasing the Father:
For myself as an action person, what it means to me to “please the Father” is that as I do the things He has placed in my heart – say like teaching, I fulfill ‘the longing’ in me. In so doing, I bring pleasure to “it’s the Father in me…”
For a people person, they may be satisfied “sitting at the Master’s feet”, or “come let me show you a man who told me everything”. Or a places person might “please the Father” by “dwelling in the secret place of the Most High.” A things person might “delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”


Ya’ll…my point is this: I don’t want to judge someone else based on my perspective, neither do I want to be judged because someone else thinks “being conformed into His image” means something else to them than it does to me. Yeah, we’re all one in the spirit – “neither male nor female, Greek nor Jew”. But that doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit has come to eradicate the uniqueness of our individualities. God has lots of members/parts within the Body of Christ, and those parts are free to give expression to their function differently than the others.

Does that make sense?

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with a (false obligation) yoke of bondage.” Gal.5:1