First Nations understood personalities 3,000 years before the first European documentation in 400BC

This statement seemed to grip the attention of a First Nations group of workshop participants. As part of the Personality Dimensions® introduction and history, I show how the First Nation’s Medicine Wheel described four types of people very similar to the styles described by Personality Dimensions®. Including this connection at the beginning of the workshop helped the participants quickly understand and remember the four colour styles. Within minutes the group was “talking in colour” as if it were second nature.

I made it clear to the group that I am not a First Nations descendant, nor have any authority regarding First Nation’s teaching. I explained that I wanted to show how First Nations were advanced in the understanding of personality over modern discoveries.

Here’s how I made the connection…

The Four Villages
Instead of introducing Personality Dimensions® through the Party Game exercise that uses the four Poster Cards, I used summaries of the four villages (personalities) from the First Nation’s Medicine Wheel. Here are the four Village Posters:

I asked the group to stand by the Village Poster that they relate to the most or find most interesting. After participants explained their attraction to each poster I asked them to take the poster from the wall revealing the associated Personality Dimensions® Poster Card, then I introduce each of the four personality preferences.