What is CORE?
I have always been really interested in personality. It’s one of the things that got me interested in being a therapist/coach in the first place, because personality helps us understand who we are and what makes us tick and also helps us understand other people. Across the years, I had never come across a personality profiling system that was really fully representative of what I was seeing as I worked with my clients. I felt like there was either something missing, or they were overly complicated for what most people were interested in. As a result, seven or so years ago now, I started collecting my own data. The CORE Temperament model is the result of that research.
To be precise, CORE is a temperament model. Temperament is the innate part of us that doesn’t change. CORE really has to do with what motivates us—not just what we do, but why we do the things we do. That part of us does not change!
CORE is an acronym. Each letter represents one of the different temperament or personality types:
C stands for Comfort and Connection
O stands for Optimism
R stands for Resolution
E stands for Exactness.
C: Comfort and Connection
The first type is the “C,” which stands for “comfort and connection.” Almost everything that the C does is done for one of those two core motivators.
Comfort: Cs are primarily motivated by being comfortable, and that includes physical comfort (comfortable clothes, furniture, temperature, etc.) and emotional comfort. It’s really important for Cs that they and those around them be comfortable. They are HIGHLY motivated by both seeking comfort and avoiding discomfort. Cs will normally go to pretty great lengths to avoid feeling uncomfortable. If something is going to make them or somebody else more comfortable, they’re usually willing to do whatever that might be.
Connection: Cs feel deeply. They really thirst for deep, meaningful connections. They want to feel like they matter to other people, and they want other people to know that they matter to them. They are willing to sacrifice, to make time, to put effort into relationships and people.
O: Optimism
Fun: Os are motivated by having fun. For the O, it’s really important that there be positive emotions going on. Os have very low tolerance for negative emotion and they bring good, positive energy to almost any situation. They really enjoy figuring things out. They tend to see the possibility in people and things, believing that there is a way to make almost anything work (especially if it offers the possibility of fun).
Live in the Present: Os are the only personality that lives in the present. It’s really important that the present moment be enjoyable. Because they live in the present, it is difficult most of the time for Os to plan because they don’t know if they will still feel like doing whatever they have planned when the time comes.
R: Resolution
Rs are motivated by getting things done. They live in the future. They’re list makers and they’re really great at creating movement. They tend to be big and bold. One of the really great things about being in a relationship with an R is that you almost always know where you stand because whatever comes into the R’s mind, usually makes its way quickly out of their mouth. An R thinks very quickly. Rs don’t pay a lot of attention to details. The goal is to get things done. The more things you can get done, the better. Rs tend to be okay with conflict. They like to have several things going at once. Rs bring good movement and energy: “Okay, we’ve talked enough about this, let’s get this show on the road!” They’re very willing to do.
E: Exactness
Es are motivated by perfecting and duplicating. They are very process-oriented. Es live in the past. I think one of the biggest strengths of the E brain is the natural ability to look at anything and to see how it could have been better. The E brain naturally looks at what has happened and sees that if they would have said this, or done that, or gone that way, whatever it was, would have been even better than it was. Es are very willing to invest the time and energy, dealing with the necessary hassle in order to do things the right way. They think through things very thoroughly, and once they’ve thought through things and landed on a conclusion, they have a high degree of confidence in the conclusion they’ve drawn. They tend to be their own authority on things, and so if you disagree with an E or think that something ought to be different than what they think, their natural tendency will be to think that you’re wrong.
Why Should I Care?
Whatever your personality type is, it’s not broken! You can’t change your temperament. You can kick against it, or you can figure out how to work with yourself. When you’re trying to be something you’re not, or just believing that in order to be acceptable or good or desirable, you have to be different than you are…it inhibits your ability to feel good about yourself.
Understanding temperament also helps us work with the people in our lives! For example, my youngest son is a C, and he’s the only one of my children who has any C in him at all. I know that he needs to be parented differently than my other kids! He needs to be treated more sensitively, and he needs to not be rushed, for example.
What’s Next?
I’ve just come out with the next version of my CORE assessment! Click here to find out what type you are! All our Instagram posts this week are also about CORE. You can also click here to sign up for my Healthy and Happy classes. One whole class is all about CORE, and we go a lot more in depth. I am also working on a book about CORE that will be the most in-depth examination of the different types and how to work with ourselves and with each other. To stay in the loop, sign up for my newsletter!