CORE is one of my absolute favorite things to talk about! In a nutshell, CORE is the temperament (kind of like personality) model that I developed over years of research. It helps us understand the innate part of us that doesn’t change and motivates why we do the things we do! CORE can help us better understand ourselves and the other people in our lives. For a more thorough explanation of how CORE came to be and for an overview of each type, check out this blog post or our CORE web page!
How is CORE Different From Other Personality Models?
CORE specifically plugs into temperament, which is the innate part of us that we are born with that doesn’t change. The real key is that temperament ties into why we do what we do. It’s not just what we do. Research clearly shows that you can change your thoughts, you can change your behavior, but there is a core element in each of us that motivates and drives the why–why we choose to do one thing over another. When different motives battle each other, there’s a core part of us that wins those battles.
So, basically, while other personality models may group people together into types based on their behavior, what I tried to do with CORE is base the types on the “why”–on the reason that people do things, on their true, consistent motives. This is important because some people may do the same things for different reasons, and some people with the same motives may engage in different behaviors in the same situations. CORE goes beyond our superficial words and actions to help us understand what’s going on behind the scenes.
How can CORE help me?
Why understand Temperament? I think it is super important and imperative to understand why you do what you do. By understanding how that works, we are able to capitalize on the strengths of our temperament and we are able to think differently about the difficulties that come. Each temperament type has strengths and weaknesses, and there are certain healthy things that each temperament type does naturally, and there are certain healthy things that each temperament type really struggles with, so when you understand that some things that are healthy don’t come naturally to you, then you can develop skills, processes, and partnerships to help you manage your life more effectively.
Additionally, we have a strong tendency to think that when someone says or does something, they do it more or less for the same reasons that we would do or say that thing. However, unless they are of the same temperament, that simply is not the case. In relationships—in marriages and parenting, work relationships, and friendship—when you understand the temperament of the different people in your life, why they do what they do, what their strengths are, and what their weaknesses are, it dramatically increases your ability to healthfully interface with them and to understand them better.
When you’re in the business of change, it’s really ineffective to try to spend your time and energy changing things that don’t change. I’ve seen a lot of people hit their heads against themselves and who they are and how their brains work over and over again with no good results because you can’t change temperament. Our job isn’t to become someone else. Our job is to continue to develop and become better versions of ourselves. The way you naturally are IS NOT BROKEN!
In My Life
CORE has helped me tremendously in my personal and professional life. I have 5 children (four living) and each one of the four has a different primary temperament type. Understanding how their brains work and why they are doing and saying the things they are, helps me as I try and help them become the healthiest versions of themselves possible. In some very important ways, I discipline my R son quite differently than I discipline my C son. I am super grateful for the insight that CORE provides me in my relationships and I really hope that you find it similarly helpful!
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! 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!